:^;:l"-i 


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^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  *Jf 


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Purchased   by  the   Hamill   Missionary   Fund. 


BV  3625  .K7  G65  1909        ■ 
Hawker,  George.  | 

The  life  of  George  Grenfell, 


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y^:X 


JAN    6   ]9"10 

THE  LIFE  OF  w,,    -  ,, 
GEORGE  GRENFELL 

CONGO    MISSIONARY    AND     EXPLORER 


By    GEORGE    HAWKER 

Minister  of  Camden  Road  Baptist  Church,  London 


WITH  PHOTOGRAVURE    PORTRAIT,    MAPS, 
AND  ILLUSTRATIONS  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 


FLEMING    H.    REVELL    COMPANY 

New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

1909 


TO 

ALFRED    HENRY   BAYNES 

WHO  WAS   GRENFELL'S   FRIEND  AND  COUNSELLOR   AND 

CONFIDANT     FOR     THIRTY     YEARS,     WHO     GAVE     HIM 

UNSTINTED     LOVE     AND     TRUST     AND     RECEIVED     AN 

EQUAL   RETURN, 

THIS    BOOK    IS    DEDICATED    WITH    THE   AUTHOR'S 
AFFECTIONATE    ESTEEM 


INTRODUCTION 

WHEN  I  was  requested  by  the  Committee  of 
the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  to  write  the 
biography  of  my  friend  and  former  fellow-student, 
George  Grenfell,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  volume 
should  contain  a  section  of  about  a  hundred  pages  to 
be  contributed  by  an  expert  (Sir  Harry  Johnston,  if 
possible),  in  which  the  scientific  side  of  Grenfell's  work 
should  be  duly  discussed  and  appraised.  Subsequently, 
Sir  Harry  Johnston  consented  to  undertake  this  task. 
But  when  Grenfell's  papers  and  journals  came  to  hand, 
it  was  apparent  that  two  or  three  chapters  included  in 
a  general  biography  would  be  quite  inadequate  for  the 
worthy  treatment  of  Grenfell's  scientific  achievements. 
It  was  therefore  arranged  that  Sir  Harry  Johnston 
should  write  a  separate  work,  an  arrangement  in  which 
I  cordially  concurred. 

That  work  has  been  published  under  the  title  George 
Grenfell  mid  the  Congo,aind  has  secured  the  high  encomiums 
of  competent  critics.  The  writer  has  given  a  vivid 
account  of  Grenfell's  travels  and  observations,  enriched 
by  his  own  stores  of  African  learning  ;  and  incidentally 
he  has  given  an  impartial,  authoritative,  yet  glowing 
appreciation  of  the  humanitarian  and  scientific  value  of 
the  work  of  African  missionaries,  for  which  the  whole 
Christian  Church,  and  especially  the  Baptist  denomination, 


viii  Introduction 

will  be  ever  grateful  to  one  who  has  attained  distinction 
as  scholar,  explorer,  and  colonial  administrator. 

By  arrangement  Sir  Harry  Johnston's  theme  was 
'  Grenfell  the  Explorer ' ;  mine,  '  Grenfell  the  Mission- 
ary.' But  it  is  obvious  that  in  the  case  of  a  traveller 
who  was  always  a  missionary,  and  a  missionary  who 
was  always  a  traveller,  such  delimitation  could  not  be 
rigorously  observed.  Sir  Harry  Johnston  was  con- 
strained to  write  missionary  chapters,  and  in  these  pages 
the  missionary  is  seen  for  the  most  part  en  voyage.  He 
would  have  ordered  his  life  otherwise,  but  bowed  to  the 
will  of  God  as  revealed  in  urgent  circumstances. 

My  work  is  based  on  Grenfell's  letters,  mostly  hitherto 
unpublished,  and  I  have  been  ruled  by  the  single  purpose 
of  providing  the  reader  with  the  means  of  knowing 
George  Grenfell.  As  far  as  possible  I  have  employed 
his  own  words,  allowing  him  to  disclose  himself.  The 
task  has  not  been  a  light  one.  Though  Grenfell 
published  little,  and  left  nothing  in  the  form  of  autobio- 
graphy, he  was  a  voluminous  correspondent,  and  the 
making  of  this  book  has  involved  the  critical  reading  of 
thousands  of  pages  of  his  manuscript. 

Both  Sir  Harry  Johnston  and  I  are  under  obligation 
to  the  Committee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  for 
granting  us  the  assistance  of  the  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt, 
who  was  for  many  years  the  Society's  Secretary  on  the 
Congo  (in  which  capacity  he  rendered  important  and 
unique  service),  and  who  was  one  of  Grenfell's  most 
intimate  friends. 

Sir  Harry  Johnston  has  made  generous  and  graceful 
acknowledgment  of  the  value  of  Mr.  Forfeitt's  service, 
and  I,  who  am  the  greater  debtor,  confess  that  his 
co-operation  has  been  indispensable.  Mr.  Forfeitt  has 
greatly  relieved  me  in  the  labour  of  collecting,  arranging, 


Intpoduction 


IX 


and  sifting  the  immense  mass  of  material  placed  at  our 
disposal,  and  has  been  my  trusty  counsellor  at  every 
critical  point;  for  which  service  and  much  other  kind- 
ness I  tender  him  my  warmest  thanks.  If  the  work 
should  be  found  reasonably  free  from  errors,  it  will  be 
largely  due  to  the  vigilance  of  my  friend,  and  to  his 
expert  knowledge  of  Congo  problems  and  affairs. 

Having  regard  to  the  simplicity  of  Grenfell's  nature,  I 
have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  include  a  chapter  of 
formal  and  analytical  appreciation.  His  outstanding 
characteristics  are  written  in  large  letters,  and  he  who 
runs  may  read.  Yet  in  one  respect  this  presentment  of 
the  man  may  surprise  some  who  had  much  intercourse 
with  him.  Though  intensely  devout  he  was  not  an 
effusive  pietist.  Spiritually  he  was  a  shy  man.  The 
flowers  of  his  soul  required  for  their  unfolding  an 
atmosphere  of  peculiar  sympathy,  and  his  wistful 
saintliness  would  hide  itself  from  admirable  persons  of 
differing  temperament,  who  would  think  of  him  in  chief 
as  the  geographer,  the  accountant,  and  the  engineer. 
Others,  no  less  appreciative  of  his  practical  genius,  will 
remember  him  first  of  all,  as  a  tender-hearted  man 
of  God. 

Grenfell's  modesty  veiled  him  from  the  world.  In 
this  book  the  veil  is  drawn  aside.  Here  the  man 
appears,  largely  as  pictured  by  himself,  in  his  intimate 
correspondence.  The  mechanic,  slaving  in  stoke-hole 
gear,  with  odd  shoes  tied  up  with  bush  grass :  the 
distinguished  explorer,  feted  at  a  Governor's  palace,  or 
dining  with  a  King :  the  missionary  of  Jesus  Christ 
watching  with  tense  emotion  by  the  deathbed  of  an 
African  boy,  whose  eyes  are  lit  up  by  the  ineffable 
vision  :  the  soldier  of  the  Cross,  stopping  a  battle  by 
means  of  moral  courage  and  a  bamboo  stick  :  the  man 


X  Introduction 

of  business,  evolving  order  out  of  chaos  in  affairs  that 
have  been  disarranged  by  disaster  and  death :  the  man 
of  letters,  sitting  down  to  write  an  essay  in  dignified  and 
measured  English  :  the  faithful  friend,  yearning  in  his 
loneliness  for  the  grip  of  a  hand  which  he  cannot  reach, 
and  for  *  the  kindly  look  in  Jennie's  eyes '  :  the  loving 
father,  pouring  out  his  soul's  treasure  for  the  spiritual 
profit  of  a  dear  child  in  a  distant  land  :  the  man  of  faith, 
who  is  sure  of  God  in  the  darkest  hour  :  the  workman 
needing  not  to  be  ashamed,  who  toils  till  the  tools  drop 
from  his  nerveless  hand  :  the  Christian  gentleman, 
courteously  considerate  of  others  to  his  last  whispered 
word — here  he  is  revealed  that  the  world  may  judge 
him,  if  it  cares  to  turn  aside  and  see. 

Grenfell's  latest  years  were  rendered  heavy  and 
sorrowful  by  the  gross  maladministration  of  the  Congo 
Government,  involving  the  atrocious  suffering  and 
untimely  death  of  innumerable  natives  ;  by  its  perverse 
policy  of  hindrance  in  relation  to  Protestant  missions  ; 
and,  in  lesser  degree,  by  misinterpretations  of  his  own 
attitude  and  conduct.  He  fondly  believed  that,  if  the 
Congo  State  became  a  Belgian  Colony,  a  new  regime 
would  be  inaugurated — and  Protestant  missionaries  still 
labouring  on  the  Congo  will  only  relinquish  such 
faith  under  dire  compulsion.  They  are  destitute  of  the 
political  animus  which  has  been  freely  but  erroneously 
ascribed  to  them  ;  and  none  will  rejoice  more  than  they 
if  the  Belgian  nation,  by  humane  and  equitable  rule 
upon  the  Congo,  should  proceed  to  make  reparation  for 
vast  and  cruel  wrongs,  the  anguish  of  which  shortened 
Grenfell's  journey  to  the  grave. 

I  have  found  it  impossible,  without  undue  extension 
of  this  volume,  to  include  tributes  to  the  character  and 
work  of  George  Grenfell,  elicited   by  his  death.     Two 


Introduction  xi 

memorial  services  should,  however,  be  mentioned.  The 
first  was  held  in  Bloomsbury  Church,  London,  on 
September  19,  1906.  It  was  addressed  by  leaders  of  the 
Baptist  denomination,  and  by  Sir  Harry  Johnston, 
G.C.M.G.,  K.C.B.,  who  was  delegated  to  represent  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society.  His  generous  appreciation 
spoken  upon  that  occasion  has  been  elaborated  in  the 
important  work  already  mentioned. 

On  September  24,  1907,  memorial  meetings  were 
held  in  Heneage  Street  Baptist  Church,  Birmingham, 
and  in  the  course  of  the  proceedings  a  tablet,  erected  in 
the  church,  was  unveiled  by  the  Rev.  Benwell  Bird,  who 
was  minister  in  Grenfell's  day ;  a  Grenfell  Museum  was 
opened,  and  addresses  were  delivered  by  men  who  had 
known  and  loved  him  from  boyhood,  and  by  colleagues 
who  had  wrought  with  him  in  the  field. 

In  the  course  of  an  address  then  delivered  the  Rev. 
Lawson  Forfeitt  bore  his  own  witness  to  the  loftiness  of 
Grenfell's  character  and  the  value  of  his  work,  and  cited 
other  significant  testimonies,  brief  extracts  from  which 
are  here  reproduced. 

The  Times  said,  at  the  time  of  his  death  :  *  Few 
explorers  in  any  part  of  the  world  have  made  such 
extensive  and  valuable  contributions  to  geographical 
knowledge  as  this  modest  missionary,  who,  had  he 
possessed  the  ambition  and  the  "  push  "  of  men  who  have 
not  done  a  tithe  of  his  work,  would  have  been  loaded 
with  honours.  .  .  .' 

Dr.  Scott  Keltic,  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society,  wrote  :  '  Mr.  Grenfell  was  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  intelligent  of  African  explorers.  Mr.  Grenfell  was 
a  man  of  exceeding  modesty.  Had  he  been  bent  on 
fame  and  money-making,  he  might  have  been  one  of  the 
best-known  travellers  of  his  time,  and  might,  years  ago, 

b 


xii  Introduction 

have  made  a  competency  ;  but  he  seems  not  to  have 
cared  for  any  of  those  things.  In  my  opinion  he  deserves 
to  be  placed  in  the  first  rank  among  African  explorers.' 

The  Royal  Geographical  Joiirnal  said  of  Grenfell : 
*  His  geographical  labours  were  not  allowed  to  interfere 
with  his  primary  work  as  a  missionary,  to  which  he 
devoted  himself  with  unflagging  zeal  to  the  last.' 

Lord  Montmorres,  in  his  book  on  the  Congo,  says  : 
'  Mr.  Grenfell  was  one  of  the  grand  old  school  of  British 
missionaries,  whose  loss  will  be  an  absolutely  irreparable 
one  to  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  the  progress  of  white 
rule  in  Africa,' 

One  of  the  most  notable  tributes  was  written  by  the 
well-known  Belgian  Geographer,  Monsieur  A.  J.  Wauters, 
in  Le  Mouvement  Geographiqiie.  It  contained  the 
following  sentences : — 

'  George  Grenfell,  who  has  just  been  struck  down  by 
death,  is  one  of  the  most  noble  figures  in  the  history  of 
the  foundation  of  the  Congo  Free  State. 

'  Grenfell  explored  and  evangelised  Central  Africa 
after  the  fashion  of  Dr.  Livingstone.  .  .  .  He  came  as  a 
man  of  peace,  winning  the  confidence  of  the  savage 
natives  by  his  patience,  tact,  and  cleverness,  taking  care 
not  to  respond  by  violence  to  the  brutish  diffidence  of 
these  primitive  beings.  .  .  . 

'  When  we  consider  that  the  conquest  of  new  land  is 
so  often  accompanied,  in  spite  of  all,  by  abuses,  excesses, 
and  by  guilty  practices  and  doings,  condemned  by  civilisa- 
tion, it  is  refreshing  to  be  able  to  recall  the  remembrance 
of  this  good  man,  a  missionary  in  the  purest  sense  of  the 
word  ;  who  succeeded,  as  the  messenger  of  peace,  in 
irradiating  the  immense  basin  of  the  Congo  by  his 
itineraries  and  in  endowing  its  geography  with  fixed  points, 
carefully  determined  by  astronomical  observations.' 


Introduction  xiii 

Perhaps  the  noblest  verbal  tribute  to  Grenfell's 
character  is  contained  in  a  letter  written  by  one  of  his 
colleagues,  who  knew  him  well,  and  was  with  him  when 
he  died.  Writing  to  the  Rev.  C.  E.  Wilson,  under  date, 
Yalemba,  July  4,  1906,  the  Rev.  W,  Millman  says  :  '  All 
the  white  men  in  the  district  took  the  opportunity  of 
testifying  their  respect  for  the  departed  veteran  and  their 
sympathy  with  the  bereaved  family  and  with  the  Mission. 
The  Roman  Catholic  priest  asked  to  be  permitted  to 
attend  the  funeral  and  render  homage  to  the  man  who, 
he  said,  was  a  noble  man  and  good.  And  we  two 
missionaries  with  broken  hearts — for  this  day  the  Lord 
had  taken  away  our  head,  in  whom  the  beatitudes  were 
exemplified  even  unto  the  bitter  last — committed  his 
body  to  the  grave,  in  sure  and  certain  hope  of  the 
Resurrection  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.' 

My  thanks  are  due,  and  are  hereby  cordially  tendered, 
to  friends  who  have  supplied  me  with  material  used  in  the 
preparation  of  this  volume.  To  Mrs.  Grenfell,  for  several 
important  interviews  ;  to  Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes,  for  the  use 
of  Grenfell's  private  papers,  committed  to  his  charge  ;  to 
Mr.  A.  H.  Baynes,  Honorary  Secretary  of  the  B.M.S., 
and  the  Rev.  C.  E.  Wilson,  B.A.,  General  Secretary  of  the 
B.M.S.,  for  access  to  the  archives  of  the  Mission  House, 
and  for  sympathetic  counsel ;  to  Grenfell's  several  corre- 
spondents who  have  granted  the  loan  of  private  letters, 
and  whose  names  are  mentioned  in  the  narrative ;  to 
Mrs.  Rowe,  of  Sancreed  (Grenfell's  sister),  and  to  several 
of  his  old  friends  in  Birmingham,  for  particulars  of  his 
early  life  ;  to  the  Rev.  John  Stona,  M.A.,  Vicar  of  Sancreed, 
for  much  courtesy  and  for  particulars  concerning  one 
whom  he  knew  well  and  esteemed  highly,  and  who  was 
an  occasional  worshipper  in  the  beautiful  parish   church 


xiv  Introduction 

of  his  fathers  ;  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Taylor,  M.A.,  Vicar  of 
St.  Just-in-Penwith,  for  his  marked  kindness  in  tracing 
Grenfell's  genealogy  ;  to  the  Rev.  R.  V.  Glennie,  for 
translating  Baluti's  touching  story  of  the  last  days  of  his 
'  Master  ' ;  and  to  other  of  Grenfell's  colleagues  who  have 
made  interesting  verbal  communications. 

Acknowledgments  are  also  due  to  the  following  for 
the  use  of  valuable  photographs :  the  Rev.  William 
Forfeitt,  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis,  of  Birmingham,  and  other  of 
Grenfell's  colleagues  and  friends.  Several  of  his  own 
photographs  have  also  been  used  in  illustration. 

It  may  not  be  unnecessary  that  the  following  abbrevia- 
tions which  frequently  occur  in  the  text  should  be  here 
explained:  A.B.M.U. — American  Baptist  Missionary 
Union;  B.M.S.— Baptist  Missionary  Society;  C.B.M.— 
Congo  Balolo  Mission ;  C.M.S. — Church  Missionary 
Society  ;  L.I.M. — Livingstone  Inland  Mission. 

It  should  be  mentioned  also  that  Grenfell  was  known 
to  the  natives  as  '  Tala  Tala  '  (*  Look  !  Look  ! '),  a  name 
suggested  by  his  spectacles.  Later,  when  his  hair  had 
grown  white,  he  was  known  as  '  Nkoko'  ('  Grandfather'). 

And  now  it  is  my  desire  and  prayer  that  by  means 
of  this  book  the  ancient  word  may  be  fulfilled  in  the 
case  of  my  friend,  whom  I  knew  well  thirty  years 
ago,  and  whom  I  know  better  now :  '  He  being  dead 
yet  speaketh.' 


GEORGE  HAWKER. 


Anson  Road,  London,  N. 
March,  1909. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   I 
EARLY  YEARS 


PAGE 


Birthplace  —  Removal  to  Birmingham  —  Infltience  of  Early 
Surrottndings  —  '  ShanH '  —  Sancreed—  Ennis  Cottage— 
Grenfell  born  Aug.  21,  1849 — Grandparents  and  Parents 
—Father's  Character— The  Family  Tree—Grandfatherly 
Solicitude— Grenfell  at  School— The  Doctor's  Forecast— 
Heiieage  Street  Baptist  Church— Sunday  School— George 
Grenfell  and  Joseph  Hawkes— Enters  the  Church— The 
Rev.  Samuel  Chapman— Friends  and  Helpers— fames 
Weston — Strenuous  Sundays — The  Blooms  bury  Theo- 
logical Class— Its  Meetings— The  Class  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  Bishop— Gre7tfell  as  a  Teacher—'  Will  it  Wash?' 
—  Apprenticeship  —  Responsibility  —  Foundation  of  an 
Auxiliary  of  the  B.M.S.—Its  Magazine— The  Three- 
penny Bit— Desire  for  Missionary  Work— Enters  Bristol 
College         •■■••.....       I 


CHArXER   II 
COLLEGE  DAYS 

The  Baptist  College,  Bristol— Stokes  Croft  in  GrenfelVs  Day 
—The  College  Traditions— Dr.  Gotch  and  his  Methods— 
The  Rev.  J,  G.  Greenhough— College  Life  and  Experi- 
ences Described— Robert  HaWs  Oddities— Accepted  as 
Fjdl  Student  —  Thoughts  of  Africa  — Dr.  UnderhilPs 
Letter— Possible  Call— Recreation— The  Rev.  H.  C.  Bailey's 
Recollections— ' A  Near  Thing'— The  Sumtnons— Letter 
fro7n  Mr.  Saker— Accepted  for  the  Cameroons—P}'epara- 
tions— Designation  Service— Saker  and  the  Slave-trade- 
Liverpool  Experiences— Personal  Recollections— Grenfell 
at  College— A?id  Thirty  Years  Later         .        .        .        ,24 


xvi  Contents 

CHAPTER   III 
AT  THE  CAMEROONS 

PACE 

Alfred  Saker — At  Fernando  Po — Removes  to  the  Mainland 
— Grenfell  and  Saker — Arrival  at  Cavieroons — Early 
Impressions  —  Methods  employed  in  the  Work  ■ —  Some 
Early  Notes — A  School  Treat — Grenfell  as  a  Doctor — 
A  Vaccination  Patient — Annoimcing  a  Death  —  A 
Perilous  Custom — Marriage  Custotns — Seizure  for  Debt 
— Female  Hardships — Grenfell  and  his  Pupils — The 
Story  of  Ewangi — A  Grateficl  Patient — A  Tragedy  and 
its  Sequel — An  Up-river  fourney — Preaching  by  the 
Way — Exploring  Water-ways — Feminine  Curiosity — 
Things  seen  on  the  fourney — Happiness  in  the  Work- 
Visits  the  Abo  Towns — *  Ebo '  Houses — Return  fourney 
— ''  Afrids  Sjinny  Fountains' — Impressions  of  the  Abo 
People —  The  Cojintry  and  its  Products —  Visit  to  Bethel 
— Domestic  Woes — Life  front  Day  to  Day        .        .        -45 

CHAPTER   IV 

AT  THE  CAMEROONS— continued 

In  Ill-health — On  the  Way  Home — Arrival — Marriage — 
Return  to  Caineroons — '  Exciting  Time '  on  the  River — 
Death  of  Mr.  Smith  — Added  Responsibility  —  Slotu 
Progress  of  the  Gospel—Death  of  Mrs.  Grenfell—'  A 
Sad  New  Year'' — Daily  Life — And  Daily  Costume — 
Difficulties  with  Spanish  Authorities — Views  en  Interior 
Missions — Geogrciphy  of  the  District — Hopes  of  Better 
Times— A  Snake  Story — Djmibi—  The  Rev.  J.  J.  Fuller 
— Grenfell  and  Comber -72 

CHAPTER   V 

PIONEERING  ON  THE  LOWER  CONGO 

Discovery  of  the  Congo — Mr.  Stanlefs  yottrjiey — Sa?t  Salva- 
dor— Mr.  Art/migton's  Offer — '  Africa  for  Christ^ — Mr. 
Arthington^s  Letter — Starting  of  the  Congo  Mission — 
Decision  of  Grenfell  and  Comber — Spying  out  the  Land 
— Description  of  the  Country — Greiifcll  and  his  Boat — 
A  Jesuit  Priest— Jack  the  Donkey— Reception  at  San 
Salvador  —  Arrival  at  Makuta  —  GrenfeWs  Second 
Marriage — Reinforceinents — Chaiti  of  Stations — Native 
Houses — Difficulties  of  Tratisport — Romish  Opposition — 
Isangila — Manyatiga — The  Basundi        .         .         .        .91 


Contents  xvii 

CHAPTER   VI 
THE  COMING  OF  THE   'PEACE* 

PAGE 

GrenfelVs  Love  for  the  Ship — Mr.  Arthingtoits  Gift — Rettirn 
of  Gretifell  to  England — ^ Dowii  in  the  Dumps'' — Loss 
of  the  '■Ethiopia'' — Launch  of  the  ''Peace'' — Stanley  Pool 
Statioti  Started — Dr.  Stanford's  Sermon — Speech  of  Mr. 
Joseph  Tritton — GrenfeWs  Speech — Speech  of  Mr.  Doke 

—  The  Voyage  O^it— Christmas  Pudding — A  Noah's  Ark 
— Arrival  at  Banaiia — Death  of  GrenfelPs  Child — Death 
of  Mr.  Doke— Death  of  Mr.  Hartland—Jottrney  to 
Stanley  Pool  —  Bad  Administrations  —  A  Sudden 
Marriage 121 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  COMING  OF  THE   '  PEACE '—continued 

Stopped  in  a  Journey  by  Armed  Natives — Death  of  Mr. 
Butcher — Life  at  Stanley  Pool — Story  of  an  Adjutant — 
Love  Affairs  of  Nlemvo  and  Lungti — A  Glorious  Break- 
fast— Death  of  Quentin  Thomson,  Hartley,  a?id  Two 
Engineers — Death  of  Grenf ell's  Father — The  ''Peace' 
put  together — Native  Workmen — Lawich  of  the  '  Peace ' 
— Letter  to  Mr.  Bar naby — His  Appreciation   .        .        •     151 

CHAPTER  VIII 
BOAT  JOURNEY  TO  THE  EQUATOR 

Up-river  Journey — Equipme7it — The  Start — The  Medicine 
Man  —  Mswata  —  The  Kwango  —  Chumbiri —  Bolobo — 
Night  in  the  Forest — River  Dangers — Liikolela  Towns — 
Nebu — Stafiley's  Equator  Station — The  Return  Journey 

—  The  Need  of  Help 171 

CHAPTER   IX 
THE   FIRST  VOYAGE  OF  THE   'PEACE' 

Success  of  the  '  Peace ' — Meeting  with  Sir  Francis  de  Winton 

—  Unruly  Schoolboys  —  Wood-cutting — The  Kwa  — 
Mtishie  Town — Nga  Nkabi — Chumbiri' s  Town — The 
Lone  Islatid—A  Dtffictilt  Channel— The  Bayansi—Moie 
— Eighty  Chiefs — The  Bolobo  People — Huma7t  Sacrifices 

—  The  Bamcnu — Lukolela—Ngombe — The  Wangi  River 

—  The  Lulongo  River  —  Demise  Population  —  Boshende 


xviii  Contents 

Towns— Blood  Brotherhood— Eqiiatorial  Towns— Dress, 
Arms,  and  Cnielty  of  the  People— Modes  of  Execution— 
The  Ruki  River— Bangala  Towns— Character  of  the 
Natives — Mengaba— Need  for  Cantio7i—Bokolela  Towns 
—Liboko  —  Site  of  Stanley's  Battle—  Mata  Mayiki  — 
Tatooing— Results 183 

CHAPTER   X 

FROM  AUTUMN,   1884,   TO  AUTUMN,   1887 

GrenfelVs  Literary  Style — Bentlefs  Testimony  to  GrenfelPs 
Work— Astronomical  Work — Loss  by  Bad  Packing- 
First  Printing  done  at  Stanley  Pool — The  Mubangi — A 
Poor  Christmas  Dinner— Attacked  by  Natives — Meeting 
with  Tippoo  Tib—  The  Lubilast—Ln  Deaths  oft— Illness 
of  Mr.  Whitley— The  Boy  Zwarky—Arab  Slave  Raids 
— Child  Interpreters —  The  Lulongo-Maringa — Can?iibals 
— Hippopotami  Hunting — Sir  F.  de  Winton's  Protests— 
His  Tribute  to  Greftfell-Retrogressive  Policy  of  the 
State— The  Boy  Kamisi 206 

CHAPTER   XI 

FROM  AUTUMN,  1884,  TO  AUTUMN,  1887— continued 

A  Destructive  Fire— Position  of  Arabs— A  Brave  Official- 
Mr.  Arthington^s  Inquiries  —  Dock  Difficulties  —  Arab 
Success  at  Stanley  Falls— Lukolela  Station  Founded— 
A  Letter  of  Thanks—  The  Kwango—Home^vard  Bound 
—Scarcity— Interview  with  the  King  of  the  Belgians- 
Heavy  Tidi7i^s— Death  of  Comber— GrenfeWs  Anxiety 
to  Return  to  the  Cons;o— Translation  Work— Programme 
of  Work     .        .      ' 230 

CHAPTER   XII 

FORWARD  MOVEMENTS  ON  THE  UPPER 
RIVER 

Death  of  Whitley  and  Biggs— A  Bottle  of  Ammonia  Fort— 
Christmas  on  the  Kwilu  River— Arrival  at  Stanley  Pool 
—Death  of  Belgian  Officers— New  Stations  formed— 
—Health  Preccnitions—The  'Down  Grade'— Mission 
Work  at  Arthington—Mr.  Wilmot  Brooke—  The  Question 


Contents 


XIX 


of  Advance  or  Retreat — Death  of  Richards — A  Tornado 
— GrenfelVs  Refusal  to  come  Home — At  Bolobo — Death 
of  Slade — First  Baptismal  Service  at  Bolobo — Death  of 
Jack  Dikiilu — Darby's  Work — His  Dog — Ten  Com- 
7nandments  Translated — Upoto — Over  Forty — Another 
Christmas — Another  Little  War — Translation  of  St. 
Mark's  Gospel— Advantages  of  Upoto — Mr.  Law  son 
Forfeitfs  Letter  —  Slave-killifig  —  Mr.  Arthingtotis 
Desire  to  go  Forward 255 

CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  SEIZURE  OF  THE   'PEACE,'  AND  THE 
COMING  OF  THE   'GOODWILL' 

Seizure  of  the  '  Peace ' — Mr.  Whitens  Letter — Letters  of  Gren- 
fell  upon  the  Seizure — Firmness  of  Mr.  Forfeitt — Btiild- 
ing  of  the  '  Goodwill ' — Death  of  Mrs.  P.  Cotnber —  Visit 
of  the  King  of  the  Belgiatts  to  England — GrenfelVs 
Review  of  the  Work — Progress  of  the  Arabs — Receives 
a  Belgian  Order — Bolobo  Towns  Burnt — Launch  of  the 
'■  Goodwill' 291 

CHAPTER   XIV 
THE  LUNDA  EXPEDITION 

Asked  to  join  a  Belgian  Commissioti — Financial  Arrange- 
ments— GrenfelVs  Embarkation — A  Terrific  Storm — 
Ministry  of  ''Mamma  Hart  land' — Landing  at  Matadi — 
The  Start — Tungwa — Stopped  by  War — Tenders  his 
Resignation — Work  of  Steane — Declaration  of  Peace — 
Food  Supply  Difficulties — The  Rainy  Season — The  High- 
lands —  Swamps  —  A  Plague  of  Flies  —  The  Small- 
pox—  The  Return  Journey — On  Livingstone's  Path — 
— At  Loatida — Death  of  Mrs.  Cameron — A  Grand 
Reception 307 

CHAPTER  XV 

BOLOBO  AND  YAKUSU— 1893  to  1896 

Disappointments — Material  Progress  at  Bolobo — Spiritual 
Progress  there — Reports  of  Misrule  by  the  State — Death 
of  Oram — Request  for  Clothes — Progress  at  San  Salvador 
— Latmch  of  the  '  Goodwill  '—Baptisms  at  Bolobo — Death 


XX  Contents 

of  Mr.  Balferti — The  Aruwimi — A  Chapter  of  Accidents 
— Difficulties  with  the  State  Officers — Staff  Changes — A 
School  Treat — Girl  Siuitmners — Roast  Beef  and  Plum 
Pudding —  Wickedness  of  Bolobo  People —  Wreck  of  the 
'  Courbet ' — A  Slave  Snatched  from  Death — Losses  by 
Death — Sargejit  Statio7i—Fataki  and  his  Wife — Loleka 
Brickmakiiig  and  Building  —  French  Treatment  of 
Natives — Treatment  of  Natives  by  the  State — Plans  for 
the  Future 


334 


CHAPTER  XVI 

MISSIONS  AND  SOCIAL  RESULTS 

Extent  of  GrenfelVs  Travels — Sierra  Leone  Missions — Place 
of  Education —  The  Labour-market — Results  of  Mission 
Work  at  Cameroons — Increase  of  Trade — Benefit  of 
Missions — Pimishment  of  Death — Waste  of  Human  Life 
— Rise  of  an  Artisan  Class — Influence  of  Language — 
Results  of  Mission  Work — Comments  on  Romish  Missions 
— Polygamy — Habits  of  Industry  Inculcated^Evil  Con- 
ditions of  Native  Life — Missions  the  Only  Hope      .         .381 

CHAPTER   XVH 

'IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN' 

Death  of  GrenfeWs  Daughter  Pattie—A  '  Bolt  from  the  Bhie ' 
— Notice  to  quit  Sargent  Station — Changes  and  Death — 
A  Soldiers'  Revolt — Progress  of  the  Railway — Death  of 
Mrs.  Scrivener — Proposed  Prospecting  Tour —  Visit  of  M. 
Bills — Natives  sing,  '  Lo,  He  comes  ' — Breakdown  of  the 
'  Leon  XI in  and  other  Steamers — Interview  with  Vice- 
Governor  Watigermee — Arrival  at  the  Lindi  Falls — 
Posts  attacked  by  A)-abs — Miss  GrenfeWs  Last  Journey 
— Dangers  of  the  River  Channel — Progress  at  Sargent 
Station — Scilamo,  a  Native  Christian  Girl — Tratislation 
Work 399 

CHAPTER   XVni 

UP  THE  ARUWIMI 

Lack  of  Rain  causes  Low  Water  in  the  Congo — Scarcity  of 
Food— A  Slave  Ransomed— Coffee  Plantations — Popula- 
tion of  River  District— Arab  Raids— The  Chief  Pitika 

receives  a   '  Rating ' — Strategic  Position   of  Villages — 


Contents  xxi 


PAGE 


Canoeson  the  Arwwimi — Mode  of  Poling — The  Rapids — 
Paint  and  Water —  The  Current — Baluti's  Home-coming 
— Major  BartteloVs  Grave — Banalya  Station — A  Native 
Blacksmith's  Shop — Native  Bellows — Carpenters  and 
their  Tools — Basket-weaving — Game — Houses — A  Blind 
Youth — The  Chief  Pangani — Iron-smelting — Popoie — 
Crocodiles — An  Aged  Chiefs  The  Return  Journey — The 
Character  of  the  Natives 430 


CHAPTER   XIX 

ILLNESS  AND  LAST   FURLOUGH 

Plans  Frustrated — GrenfelVs  Serious  Illness — Discussion 
about  a  Sheep — Storms  and  Wrecks — Grace  Gi'oifell  on 
her  Travels — A  Revolt  at  Boma — The  Voyage  Home — 
Proposed  Appeal  to  Principals  of  Colleges — Passage  about 
Newspaper  Men — Grenfell  at  Brussels — Illness  of  him- 
self and  Colleagues — His  Welcotne  to  Mr.  Lawson 
Forfeiti—Another  Breakdown — Letter  of  Mr.  Howell — 
Farewells 450 

CHAPTER   XX 

LETTERS  TO   HIS  CHILDREN 

A  Monkey  Story — Hostile  Natives — Lessons — '  Brain  DrilP 
needed — Loleka's  Story —  The  '  Eye  of  a  Needle ' — A 
Birthday  kept  for  an  Absent  Child — A  Piece  of  String 
asked  for — A  Goat  Drowned —  The  '  Blues  ' — Hints  on 
Reading — Accident  to  the  '  Peace ' — A  Swarm,  of  Bees — 
Difficult  Navigation — Turned  Back — Bible-reading — 
Brussels — Importance  of  learning  French         .        .        .    470 

CHAPTER   XXI 

BALKED   BY  THE  STATE 

Disappointment — Reproached  by  the  Governor — Meeting  with 
Be>itley  at  Stanley  Pool — Yalemba  and  Yambuya — Death 
of  Mrs.  Millman — Opposition  of  Romish  Missionaries — 
Importance  of  Translation  Work  and  Schools — Signs  of 
Blessing  at  Bolobo — Notes  on  Industrial  Training — Good 
Work  of  Disasi — Mawambi — Boy  Scholars— A  Bachelor 
Manage — Evils  of  State  Policy — Unity  of  Native  Races 


xxii  Contents 

PAGE 

— Death  of  George  Moore  at  Yakitsu — The  Lualaba — 
Nyafigive — Illness  of  Grenfell — Return  of  Mr.  Laivson 
Forfcitt — Intervieiu  with  British  Consul —  Voyage  up  the 
Kwango — Progress  at  Yakusic  and  Upoto — First  Hymn- 
book — Atrocities — The  Engineer  and  Carpenter  of  the 
^ Peace'' — Tsetse  Flics — Sleeping  Sickness — More  Books 
wanted — Crocodiles — The  Loinanti  —  Native  Hyinn- 
singing — Sickness  again 490 

CHAPTER    XXII 

TO  YALEMBA  AT  LAST! 

Resignation  of  Mr.  Baynes — GrenfeWs  Affection  for  him — 
'  Withdrawal  from  Mo7isembe —  Visit  to  Out-Stations — 
'■Keeping  SchooV — Feuds  at  Yale7?iba — Unrest  among 
the  People — Misrepresentations — Coriference  at  Kinshasa 
— Dr.  Bentlefs  Death — GrenfeWs  Protest  against  the 
State — A  Heavy  Load  for  the  '•Peace'' — The  ^Endeavour'' 
—  Wreck  of  the '  Roi  dcs  Beiges ' — Health  of  Missionaries     533 

CHAPTER   XXIII 
♦THE   DEATH   OF   "TATA"   FINISHED' 

Grenfell  goes  to  Yakusu — Returns  to  Yalemba — An  Insidious 
Fever — Progress  at  Yalefnba — A  Debt  '  Palaver ' — 
GrenfeWs  House  Fired — His  Last  Illness — His  Last 
Voyage — Doctor''s  Devotion — Mr.  Millman^s  Journey — 
'  Peace '  sent  to  meet  Mr.  Milbnan  and  Consul — Mr. 
Kempton^s  Arrival — Hope  Abandoned — Last  Scenes — 
The  Dearest  Tribute 561 

INDEX 577 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

George  Grenfell.    Photogravure  portrait        .       Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Alfred  Henry  Baynes,  Esq.,  F.R.A.S i 

George  Grenfell  and  Lawson  Forfeitt,  1901    .       .        1 
George  Grenfell  as  a  Youth,  at  19,  and  in  Middle 

Life 8 

Grenfell's  Birthplace  at  Sancreed,  near  Penzance       8 
Heneage  Street  Baptist  Church,  Birmingham         .      26 
Grenfell  Memorial  Tablet,  Heneage  Street  Bap- 
tist Church 26 

Baptist  College,  Stokes  Croft,  Bristol      ...      26 
The  Atlantic  Aspect  of  the  Beach  at  Banana  Point, 

Congo  Mouth 100 

Grenfell  starting  for  San  Salvador,  1878       .       .    100 
Tree  at  San   Salvador    on   which   Grenfell   and 

Comber  cut  their  Initials  in  1878  .  .  ,108 
On  the  Road  to  San  Salvador,  crossing  a  Swamp  108 
Congo    Scenery    in    the    Cataract    Region,    near 

Stanley  Pool 130 

Old  Underhill  Station,  and  Hell's  Cauldron       .    130 

A  Funeral  Dance 148 

A  Dancing  Woman  and  her  Attendants     .       ■       .148 
Mission   Steamer  'Peace'  at  Bopoto   Beach,  Upper 

Congo 166 

Bakuba  Axe  from  the  Kasai-Sankuru  .        .        .194 

Executioners'  Choppers,  Bangala  Country       .       .194 
War  Spears  from  the  Northern  Congo     .       .       .194 

The  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Comber 208 

The  Rev.  W.  Holman  Bentley,  D.D 208 


xxiv         List  of  Illustrations 

FACING  PACK 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis 208 

Mission  Canoe  on  the  Upper  Congo     ....  240 

Letting  down  Fishing  Net  at  Bopoto  ....  240 

View  in  One  of  the  Boi.obo  Towns      ....  256 

Chopo  Falls,  Lindi  River 256 

BoLOBO :    Grenfell's    House   and    Store,    and   the 

School-Chapel,  1890 276 

BoLOBO  Station  ;   Grenfell's  Home  on   the  Upper 

Congo 276 

Arrival   of   the    Revs.   F.    R.    Oram    and   William 

Forfeitt  at  Bopoto,  1890 288 

A  School  Feast,  Bopoto,  Upper  Congo  .       •  288 

Native  of  Yakusu  District 294 

Chief  of  Yakusu  and  Wife 294 

A  Native  of  Bopoto 294 

Pilot  of  the  s.s.  '  Peace  ' 294 

A  Wrestling  Match 330 

Crossing  Kwilu  River,  Lunda  Expedition  .  .  330 

Opening  of  the  New  Church,  San  Salvador  .  .  338 
Grenfell  and  the  Rev.  Lawson   Forfeitt  at  San 

Salvador,  1893 338 

Departure    of    s.s.    'Goodwill'     from    Bopoto    to 

FOUND  Yakusu  Station 362 

Mr.   AND  Mrs.  Grenfell  on  the  s.s.   'Peace,'  Aru- 

wiMi  River 362 

Grenfell's  Early  Home,  Bolobo 376 

Grenfell's  Home,  Bolobo 376 

Native  Carpenters  at  San  Salvador    ....  394 

Brickmaking  at  Bopoto 394 

Native  Blacksmiths,  Upper  Congo        ....  394 

Caravan  Road,  Cataract  Region,  Lower  Congo       .  408 

Congo  Railway  and  the  River  Congo,  near  Matadi  408 

Fleet  of  Canoe  Dwellings,  Isangi,  1891      .       .       .  426 

Stanley  Falls      426 

Bondonga  Style  of  wearing  the  Hair  .  444 

Banalya  People,  on  the  Middle  Aruwimi  River      .  444 


List  of  Illustrations 


XXV 


FACING    PAGE 


View   down   River,  from  Matadi,  with  New  Under 

HILL 

Grenfell  in  Camp  on  the  Aruwimi  River  . 

S.S.  'Peace'  after  a  Tornado,  Bolobo 

Riverside  Town,  Bopoto    . 

Leopoldville,  Stanley  Pool    . 

Man-eating  Crocodile,  Bopoto 

S.S.  '  Endeavour  '  off  Kinshasa  Beach 

B.M.S.  Mission  Church,  Bolobo 

'  Printing  House  Square,'  Bolobo  . 

River  Bank,  Yalemba 

Yalemba:  General  View  of  Grenfell's  Last  Station 

1906 

Grenfell's  Faithful  Attendants  at  Yalemba  and 

Basoko 

B.M.S.  Missionaries  at  the  General  Conference  of 

Missionaries  at  Kinshasa,  Stanley  Pool,  1906 
Last  Photograph  of  Grenfell,  at  Bopoto  . 
Grenfell     itinerating     among     Village    Schools 

Upper  Congo 

Yalemba  School-Chapel,  April,  1906     ... 
Yalemba  :   House  where  Grenfell  lived  prior  to 

his  Death 

Basoko,  Upper  Congo,  where  Grenfell  is  buried 
Grenfell's  Grave,  Basoko 


454 
484 
484 
484 
496 
496 
496 
514 
514 
534 

534 

544 

544 
556 

556 
562 

562 
570 
570 


MAPS 


FAGB 


I.    Western  Equatorial  Africa      .     End  of  volume 

By   y.     W.    Addison    (by    armngenunt    with    Messrs. 
Hutchinson  er  Co.) 

II.    The  Cameroons .71 

Showing  GrenfelFs  journeys,  1874- 1878. 

III.    The  Congo  Mission,  West  Central  Africa       .      90 

Sketch  Map  showing  the  early  operations  of  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Society. 

IV.    Sketch  Map  of  Congo  River         .       .       .       .254 

To  illustrate  the  journeyings  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society  s.s.  ^ Peace ^  (Grenfell,  1884). 

V.    Sketch    Map   showing   Yakusu,  Yalemba,  and 

Basoko 560 


ALFRED    HENRY   BAYNES,   Esq.,  F.R.A.S. 
Photo  :  Elliott  &  Fry. 


THE  REV.  GEORGE  GRENFELL.  THE  REV.  I.AWSON  FORFEITT. 

Taken  during  Grenfell's  last  furlough  in  1901. 

Photo:  W.  Coles,  Watford. 


THE  LIFE  OF 
GEORGE    GRENFELL 

CHAPTER   I 
EARLY    YEARS 

Birthplace— Removal  to  Birmingham— Influence  of  Early  Surround- 
ings— '  Shan't ' — Sancreed — Ennis  Cottage— Grenfell  born  Aug. 
21,  1849 — Grandparents  and  Parents — Father's  Character— The 
Family  Tree— Grandfatherly  Solicitude— Grenfell  at  School— 
The  Doctor's  Forecast— Heneage  Street  Baptist  Church- 
Sunday  School — George  Grenfell  and  Joseph  Hawkes — Enters 
the  Church — The  Rev.  Samuel  Chapman— Friends  and  Helpers 
— James  Weston — Strenuous  Sundays — The  Bloomsbury  Theo- 
logical Class — Its  Meetings — The  Class  and  the  Roman  Catholic 
Bishop— Grenfell  as  a  Teacher — 'Will  it  Wash?' — Apprentice- 
ship— Responsibility — Foundation  of  an  Auxiliary  of  the  B.M.S. 
— Its  Magazine — The  Threepenny  Bit — Desire  for  Missionary 
Work — Enters  Bristol  College. 

GEORGE  GRENFELL,  who  will  rank  in  history 
among  the  great  missionaries  who  have  also  been 
great  explorers,  was  born  at  Sancreed,  a  sequestered 
village  lying  on  the  uplands  behind  Penzance.  He  was 
but  three  years  old  when  his  parents  removed  to 
Birmingham,  and  his  boyhood  and  youth  were  passed 
in  the  smoke-stained  atmosphere  of  the  metropolis  of 
the  Midlands.  But  Sancreed,  often  revisited  and  always 
loved,  must  be  reckoned  with  in  any  true  appreciation 
of  his  character  and  genius.  The  hush  and  the  beauty 
of  the  place,  its  clear  skies  and  distant  views  of  the 

B 


2  Early  Years 

boundless  sea,  contributed  to  the  making  of  his  mind. 
And  he  came  of  a  stock  for  whom  the  hills  and  the 
fields,  the  cliffs — passing  lovely  in  the  sunshine  but  grim 
as  death  in  the  storm — the  sea — sometimes  a  tender 
wooer,  and  sometimes  a  furious  foe — and  the  few  and 
simple  neighbours  of  the  village  or  the  fishing  town, 
made  up  the  world. 

Grenfeil's  town  life  rendered  him  reasonably  easy 
among  the  multitude,  but  the  deeper  yearnings  of  his 
heart  were  ever  toward  the  wide  simplicities  of  nature. 
He  hated  every  form  of  fuss.  Applause  and  publicity, 
which  many  covet,  were  positively  painful  to  him.  He 
craved  to  be  quiet  and  to  do  his  work  in  peace.  He 
never  wrote  a  book,  though  he  might  have  written  a 
score,  and  made  a  competency.  Some  of  his  most  vivid 
and  valuable  writing  was  done  in  the  wilds,  and  addressed 
in  the  form  of  letters  to  mother,  child,  or  friend. 

Grenfell  was  a  Cornishman  by  birth  and  breed ;  and 
the  Cornish  are  a  sturdy  race,  capable  of  wholesome 
stubbornness.  The  metal  of  their  native  hills  has  passed 
into  their  blood  ;  and  the  infinite  perseverance  and  stead- 
fast courage  which  characterized  Grenfeil's  work  may  be 
accounted  for  in  part  by  his  Cornish  extraction. 

Long  ago  I  heard  a  lecture  by  a  Cornishman  of  note, 
the  Rev.  Mark  Guy  Pearse,  upon  his  own  people.  In 
the  course  of  a  dramatic  passage,  he  threw  himself  into 
a  typical  attitude,  assumed  a  typical  expression,  and 
uttered  the  word  '  Shan't ! '  The  impression  made  was 
indelible,  and  the  Cornishman's  '  Shan't '  echoes  in  my 
mind  across  the  interval  of  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

Grenfell  could  say  '  Shan't.'  There  was  a  moment  in 
his  life  when  it  became  in  effect  his  reply  to  a  behest 
of  the  Committee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society, 
formally  conveyed  to  him  by  the  letter  of  his  ever  dear 


Sancpeed  3 

and  honoured  friend,  Mr.  Baynes.  There  had  been 
heavy  losses  on  the  field.  Grenfell,  who  had  curtailed 
furlough  in  regard  for  solemn  exigencies,  was  over- 
worked and  spent.  Friends  naturally  became  nervous, 
and  he  was  ordered  home.  His  '  Shan't '  of  course  was 
watered  down  by  pages  of  gracious  and  apologetic 
argument,  but  the  gritty  heart  of  it  was  there,  and  he 
did  not  come. 

Sancreed  is  '  far  from  the  madding  crowd ' ;  yet  a 
thin  stream  of  bustling  life  ripples  near  by  through  the 
days  of  the  summer  months,  and  the  muffled  throbbing 
of  the  motor-bus  must  sometimes  break  the  stillness  of 
its  quiet  evenings.  Tourists,  with  Land's  End  for  objec- 
tive, leave  the  train  at  Penzance,  and  are  conveyed 
by  motor  past  the  docks,  along  the  esplanade,  through 
the  suburb  to  the  borders  of  Newlyn,  now  itself  a 
greater  suburb  of  Penzance. 

Crossing  the  bridge  at  the  entrance  to  Newlyn,  the 
road  turns  sharply  to  the  right,  and  the  labouring 
engines  slowly  climb  the  hill,  beside  a  romantic  stream 
which  tumbles  swiftly  to  the  sea.  Half  an  hour  of 
charming  up-and-down  journeying  brings  the  travellers 
to  a  hamlet  called  Drift,  and  here,  near  the  top  of  a 
sharp  ascent,  the  pilgrim  to  Grenfell's  birthplace  parts 
company  with  tourists,  and,  taking  a  by-road  which  leaves 
the  main  track  at  right  angles,  makes  for  Sancreed. 

A  walk  of  a  mile  along  a  lonely  high-lying  road, 
bordered  by  expansive  hedges  of  bracken  and  bramble, 
from  which  valleys  drop  away  on  either  side,  brings  him 
to  a  point  of  view  whence  the  heart  of  Sancreed  is  more 
or  less  visible  in  winter,  but  in  summer  almost  com- 
pletely hidden.  A  big  hill  rises  right  ahead,  skirted  by 
a  wood,  and  in  this  wood  lie  embowered  Sancreed 
Church  and  *  Church  Town.*    The  latter  now  consists 


4  Early  Years 

of  the  Vicarage,  the  School  and  School-house,  and  the 
homestead  of  the  Glebe  Farm,  once  an  inn,  but  now  a 
private  residence. 

Passing  through  Church  Town  and  emerging  from 
the  wood,  the  wayfarer  shortly  comes  to  a  Methodist 
Chapel  and  a  cluster  of  cottages.  His  road  then 
divides,  and  bearing  to  the  left  and  clinging  to  the 
broad  shoulder  of  the  hill  he  is  at  length  rewarded 
by  the  sight  of  Trannack  Mill,  nestling  in  what  might 
be  called  the  nook  of  a  little  valley,  through  which 
runs  a  stream,  so  exiguous  that  it  is  difficult  to  imagine 
it  turning  a  practicable  wheel.  The  Mill  is  now  merely 
a  farmstead,  and  living  memory  fails  to  fix  the  location 
of  the  vanished  wheel.  It  is  approached  by  a  green 
track  which  runs  beside  the  stream  for  a  couple  of 
hundred  yards  ;  and  at  the  commencement  of  this  track, 
and  on  the  edge  of  the  estate,  stands  Ennis  Cottage, 
in  which  George  Grenfell  was  born  on  August  21,  1849. 

At  the  time  of  his  birth  his  grandfather,  John 
Grenfell,  worked  the  farm  (some  twenty-one  acres  in 
extent)  and  was  engaged  in  business  as  a  carpenter, 
having  a  workshop  in  Church  Town.  His  son  George, 
Grenfell's  father,  worked  with  him.  But  times  were 
bad.  The  decay  of  the  mining  industry,  in  which  the 
Grenfells  had  some  direct  interest,  hurt  them  in  their 
business,  besides  involving  loss  in  shares;  and  in  1852 
George  Grenfell  senior  made  his  home  in  Birmingham. 

John  Grenfell  of  Trannack  Mill  hailed  from  St. 
Just,  and  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  of  his  maternal 
grandparents,  Michael  and  Catherine  Rowe,  of  Botree.^ 

'  One  of  the  heirlooms  of  the  family  is  a  blue  jug,  which  bears  the 

following  inscription  : 

Mich'  and  Cath«  Rowe 

Botree  St.  Greet 

May  the  honest  heart  never  know  distress 

1796 


Grenfell's  Parents  5 

He  came  to  Trannack  Mill  upon  his  marriage  with 
Elizabeth  Pollard,  to  whose  family  the  estate  formerly 
belonged,  and  here  were  born  their  two  sons,  John,  who 
died  in  1843  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  George,  the 
father  of  the  missionary,  and  also  their  daughter, 
Elizabeth  Pollard  Grenfell,  a  woman  of  marked 
saintliness,  who  enjoyed  a  close  friendship  with  her 
vicar's  daughter,  a  kindred  spirit,  and  died  upon  a 
visit  to  her  brother's  house  in  Birmingham  in  1856. 

Grenfell's  father  is  spoken  of  as  a  man  of  quiet  and 
patient  temper,  singularly  kind-hearted,  but  somewhat 
wanting  in  the  energy  that  makes  way  in  the  world. 
He  was  a  man  of  good  intelligence,  fond  of  reading, 
a  keen  politician,  and  a  strong  conservative.  He 
had  an  excellent  memory  for  dates  and  figures,  an 
admirable  endowment  in  a  political  friend,  a  dis- 
concerting peculiarity  in  a  political  foe.  His  mild 
temper  made  him  shrink  from  even  needful  severities, 
and  when  domestic  punishments  were  called  for  the 
infliction  was  left  to  his  wife.  Happily  she  was  a 
woman  of  character,  capable  of  winning  love  while 
not  withholding  discipline,  and  the  devotion  of  her 
distinguished  son  is  a  golden  thread  running  through 
the  fabric  of  both  their  lives.  She,  also,  was  a  farmer's 
daughter,  born  at  Gunwalloe,  near  Mullion,  in  1823. 
Small  wonder  that  boyhood  and  youth  spent  in  a  vast 
town  failed  to  quench  the  in-bred  love  of  outdoor  life 
in  one  who  came  of  such  a  stock  ! 

Though  there  is  no  proof  that  the  matter  ever  gave 
George  Grenfell  the  slightest  concern,  it  is  interesting  to 
learn  upon  authority  that  the  Grenfells  of  Trannack 
Mill,  and  certain  other  Grenfells  who  have  attained  to 
rank  and  place  in  the  world,  belong  to  branches  of  one 
family.     The  Rev.  Thomas  Taylor,  M.A.,  Vicar  of  St. 


6  Early  Years 

Just-in-Penwith,  the  distinguished  Cornish  genealogist, 
having  kindly  interested  himself  in  the  matter,  writes 
as  follows,  under  date  of  March  5,  1907:  'I  have 
solved  the  problem.  Quite  incidentally  I  learnt  this 
afternoon  that  John  Grenfell,  who  married  Catherine 
Rowe,  was  the  brother  of  William  Grenfell,  the  grand- 
father of  Mr.  Pascoe  Grenfell,  our  school  attendance 
officer.  So  that  either  the  age  of  John  Grenfell 
was  incorrectly  stated  on  the  Sancreed  monument,  or 
(which  is  quite  likely)  the  monument  was  erected 
to  the  memory  of  another  John  Grenfell.  On  a 
separate  slip  I  give  you  the  pedigree.  You  will 
now  be  quite  justified  in  stating  that  George 
Grenfell  was  nearly  related  to  Lords  Grenfell  and 
Desborough.' 

1658 

I 

Paskow  Greindfield  =  Juliana  Gates. 


John  Greindfield  =  Rachel  Tregear, 


Paskow  Grenfeld  =  Mary  Maugham.  John  Grenfield  =  Alice  Dates. 

I  I 

From  whom  Lord  Grenfell  | 

and  Lord  Desborough.  Paskow  G.  =  Cordelia  Giles. 


1781  I 

John  Grenfell  =  Cath.  Rowe.  William  G. 

bapt.  1758.      I  I 


,  ,     ^  I  Pascoe  G. 

John  Grenfell  =  Eliz.  Pollard. 


/-.  r^       ,  ,,    '  Pascoe  G. 

George  Grenfell  =  Johanna  Rowe, 


George  Grenfell, 
the  Explorer. 


*  Wanted  a  Morsel'  7 

Though  Grenfell  left  Sancreed  in  infancy,  and 
probably  before  any  lasting  impressions  were  made 
upon  his  mind,  he  renewed  his  acquaintance  with  his 
birthplace  while  still  a  child,  and  'Beacon  Hill,'  which 
fronted  Ennis  Cottage  and  Trannack  Mill,  was  ever  a 
well-loved  feature  in  his  mental  landscape. 

In  1856  we  find  him  making  a  long  stay  at  the  Mill, 
and  two  letters  addressed  by  his  grandfather  to  his 
parents  in  Birmingham  afford  interesting  glimpses  of 
his  life  at  the  age  of  seven  years.  The  writer  says, 
under  date  May  6,  '  George  was  poorly  last  week  and 
did  not  go  to  school,  but  went  yesterday.  To-day  it 
rains  much,  so  he  must  not  go.  Grandmother  is  very 
careful  of  her  George,  and  would  not  consent  to  his 
being  polled  [i.e.  having  his  hair  cut],  but  I  intend  to 
get  it  done  on  Thursday  if  the  weather  will  let  us  go 
to  Penzance.' 

Then  follows  a  story  of  how  George  went  with  his 
grandfather  in  search  of  strayed  bullocks  on  the 
previous  evening,  being  sometimes  carried  pick-a-back. 
In  the  course  of  the  journey  he  *  wanted  a  morsel,'  and 
was  promised  refreshment  when  they  got  to  Sellan, 
which  soothed  his  trouble.  As  they  entered  Sellan  a 
certain  kindly  Peggy  Waters  met  them,  kissed  George 
and  fed  him.  Upon  returning  to  Trannack  Mill  they 
found  the  bullocks  safe  at  home. 

As  one  reads  this  artless  account  of  an  early 
expedition,  one  wonders  whether  in  greater  quests  of 
later  years  it  recurred  to  the  memory  of  the  traveller, 
and  whether,  when  at  times  he  lay  down  hungry  in  the 
African  wilds,  he  dreamed  of  Peggy  Waters  and  her 
kiss  and  her  loaf.  The  letter  adds  the  information  that 
*  he  has  plenty  of  playmates,  plenty  of  playthings,  and 
money  too,  of  which  he  is  proud.' 


8  Early  Years 

A  second  letter,  dated  June  2,  states  that  'Grand- 
mother,' though  suffering  much  with  rheumatism,  made 
the  journey  to  Penzance  on  Thursdays,  and  that  George 
always  accompanied  his  grandparents.  Then  follows  an 
account  of  a  childish  exploit.  The  previous  Friday  was 
*a  day  of  rejoicing,'  and  George  and  his  grandfather 
saw  *  the  fixtures '  being  put  up  in  preparation  '  for  the 
children  and  others  to  take  tea.'  For  some  reason 
George  was  unable  to  attend  the  feast ;  but  his  grand- 
father writes  that  he  'was  very  willing  to  stay  at  home, 
and  went  out  into  the  garden  and  fixed  up  poles  to 
make  a  booth,  and  trimmed  them  off  with  greens  and 
flowers.  He  did  it  all  by  himself.  Indeed,  I  knew 
nothing  of  it  until  it  was  almost  finished.  So  we 
took  tea  in  the  garden  very  comfortably.'  It  would 
be  interesting,  if  it  were  possible,  to  compute  how  many 
poles  George  fixed  up  in  the  following  fifty  years  to 
provide  shelter  under  which  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men 
might  find  rest  and  refreshment. 

At  this  time  he  was  rid  of  his  cough,  but  had  a 
remainder  of  cold  which  caused  deafness.  His  grand- 
father gives  some  quaint  hints  of  treatment,  requests 
his  parents'  '  thoughts  about  it ' ;  and  adds,  what  they 
would  be  pleased  to  hear,  and  what  is  still  interesting 
to  read,  that  '  he  is  very  brisk  and  lively,  goes  to  school 
regularly,  and  is  very  fond  of  it,  is  growing  finely,  has  a 
great  red  face,  and  is  made  much  of  by  his  schoolmaster 
and  playmates.' 

The  story  of  this  visit  to  Sancreed  ends  sadly. 
George's  mother  had  come  down  from  Birmingham  to 
fetch  her  boy  home.  While  she  was  on  a  visit  to  her 
sister  at  Sithney,  near  Helston,  her  father  died  suddenly, 
and  she  was  hastily  recalled  to  the  house  of  mourning. 
Whether  George  was  at  Trannack  Mill  at  this  time,  or 


GRENFELL,  Aged  19.  IN  MIDDLE  LIFE.  AS  A  YOUTH. 

Photos  :    T.  Lewis,  BirniingJiain. 


GREXFELL'S    BIRTHPLACE   AT   SANCREED,    NEAR   PENZANCE. 
Photo:  Mr.  Charles  Steic-art,  Penzance. 


The  Doctor's  Discernment      9 

at  Sithney  with  his  mother,  cannot  now  be  determined  ; 
but  in  any  case,  the  loss  of  his  genial  grandfather, 
whose  love  for  him  was  sufficiently  evident,  and  who 
•  was  an  upright  man  and  well  thought  of/  would  be  a 
real  grief  to  his  child  heart.  His  grandmother  lived 
twenty  years  longer,  and  attained  the  age  of  eighty-two. 

Grenfell's  grandfather  was  pleased  with  his  school 
work  at  Sancreed,  and  later,  in  Birmingham,  his 
intelligence  was  well-esteemed  by  his  masters  and 
schoolfellows.  But  apparently  there  was  a  dull  period 
in  which  his  progress  in  learning  was  so  slow  that  his 
mother's  mind  was  perturbed.  Two  years  subsequent 
to  the  Sancreed  visit  he  was  ailing.  Perhaps  the  illness 
accounted  for  his  dulness. 

Two  doctors  met  in  consultation.  One  of  them 
ventured  the  opinion  that  he  had  a  fine  head.  His 
mother  lamented  his  backwardness,  and  was  asked, 
'  How  old  is  he  ? ' 

*  Nine  years  to-day,'  was  the  reply.  Whereupon  the 
doctor  said  to  the  boy,  *  If  you  don't  get  on,  it  won't  be 
for  want  of  a  head.'  This  was  one  of  those  chance 
words  which  a  fond  mother  hid  in  her  heart ;  and  the 
story  was  often  told  by  her  in  later  years,  when  the 
doctor's  discernment  had  been  sufficiently  vindicated. 

It  was  probably  a  year  or  two  later  than  this  that 
George  Grenfell  entered  the  Baptist  Sunday  School  at 
Heneage  Street,  perhaps  the  most  momentous  act  and 
fact  of  his  life. 

Heneage  Street  Baptist  Church,  Birmingham,  was 
founded  in  1842,  and  was  then  suburban,  but  the 
extension  of  the  city  has  involved  changed  conditions. 
The  Church  has  now  to  sustain  a  ministry  in  a  difficult 
district,  and  like  other  Churches  similarly  placed  has 
been  called  upon  to  endure  the  loss  of  wealthy  and  able 


lo  Early  Years 

supporters  who  have  migrated  to  fairer  scenes.  Happily 
it  retains  the  affectionate  and  devoted  interest  of  a 
few  strong  men  who  were  nurtured  within  its  borders 
and  cannot  find  it  in  their  hearts  to  forsake  the  old 
home. 

Heneage  Street  was  George  Grenfell's  spiritual 
home,  and  he  loved  it  to  the  end.  Every  scrap  of 
Heneage  Street  news  was  ever  welcome.  His  letters 
teem  with  references  and  inquiries.  The  joys  of 
Heneage  Street  are  his  joys ;  its  sorrows  are  his 
sorrows  ;  and  from  the  wilds  of  Africa  his  heart  returns 
to  the  dear  sanctuary  with  longing  akin  to  that  which 
the  exiled  Jew  experienced  for  Zion. 

At  a  public  meeting,  occasioned  by  the  unveiling 
of  a  Grenfell  memorial  tablet  in  Heneage  Street 
Church,  to  which  other  reference  has  been  made,  one 
of  Grenfell's  oldest  friends  stated  that  he  appeared  as 
quite  a  boy  in  the  Sunday  School,  but  that  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  coming  were  unknown.  Since  then 
the  facts  have  been  disclosed.  His  people  belonging 
to  the  Church  of  England,  he  and  a  younger  brother 
attended  St.  Matthew's  Sunday  School.  But  at  St. 
Matthew's  was  a  bigger  boy  who  bullied  and  oppressed 
the  younger  brother,  and  to  escape  this  annoyance, 
doubtless  with  his  parents'  approval,  Grenfell  and  his 
brother  joined  the  School  at  Heneage  Street. 

Among  the  influences  of  Heneage  Street  that  went 
to  the  making  of  Grenfell's  character,  his  boy  friends, 
in  whom  he  was  singularly  fortunate,  must  take  an 
important  place.  Foremost  among  these  was  Joseph 
Hawkes,  who  remained  his  close  and  confidential  friend 
until  his  life's  end,  and  who  has  further  proved  the 
stability  of  his  friendship  by  wise  and  sympathetic  care 
for  the  interests  of  those  dear  ones  whom  Grenfell  left 


A  Lively  Reminiscence 


II 


behind.  Joseph  Hawkes  was  his  school-fellow  on  week- 
days as  well  as  Sundays.  They  both  attended  the  Gem 
Street  branch  of  King  Edward's  Grammar  School.  It 
was  a  Church  of  England  foundation,  but  the  religious 
difficulty  seems  to  have  been  met  in  a  simple,  practical 
fashion.  During  study  of  the  Church  Catechism,  Non- 
conformist scholars  were  withdrawn.  Instead  of  the 
Collect,  they  were  expected  to  recite  the  text  of  the 
sermon  which  they  had  heard  on  the  Sunday  morning. 
There  was  a  purely  Scripture  Catechism  which  all 
studied  in  common,  and  Mr.  Hawkes  bears  witness  that 
Grenfell  and  he  and  many  others  were  indebted  for  a 
solid  grounding  in  Scripture  knowledge  to  the  Head- 
master's excellent  teaching. 

Joseph  and  George  were  great  friends,  but  the 
*  course  of  true  love '  was  not  always  smooth,  and  I  am 
indebted  to  Mr.  Hawkes  for  a  lively  reminiscence  which 
will  go  to  the  heart  of  any  schoolboy  who  dips  into 
these  pages,  and  haply  appeal  to  others  whose  school 
days  belong  to  a  remote  but  unforgotten  past. 

One  day  they  had  a  difference,  and  determined  to 
fight  it  out.  The  fight  was  not  of  the  common  fisticuff 
order,  but  more  in  the  nature  of  a  duel.  Each  wore  at 
that  time  a  short  waterproof  cape,  which,  being  com- 
pactly rolled  up,  formed  a  species  of  baton,  not  exactly 
a  deadly  weapon,  but  formidable  enough  for  schoolboy 
uses.  After  lessons  the  combatants  betook  themselves 
to  the  '  clay- pits '  in  a  certain  field,  and  having  formu- 
lated rules,  including  brief  intervals  for  rest,  they  fought 
with  their  capes  for  the  space  of  one  hour.  As  neither 
confessed  himself  beaten,  and  both  were  reasonably 
played  out,  the  contest  was  declared  'drawn,'  and 
amicable  relations  were  resumed.  There  was  a  sequel 
in  the  case  of  Joseph  Hawkes.      Arriving  at  home  an 


12  Early  Years 

hour  and  a  half  late,  '  red  as  a  lobster,'  and  unable  to 
give  a  satisfactory  account  of  himself,  the  episode  was 
rounded  off  for  him  by  sound  paternal  chastisement. 

Both  boys  at  the  time  of  this  strenuous  interlude 
were  about  twelve  years  old.  Some  three  years  later 
Grenfell  was  baptized,  and  received  into  the  fellowship 
of  the  Church  on  November  7,  1864,  his  friends  Joseph 
Hawkes  and  William  Hastings  taking  the  same 
important  step  within  some  few  months.  These  lads, 
and  others  who  went  the  same  good  way,  confess  their 
indebtedness  to  the  earnest  and  virile  ministry  of 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Chapman,  who  was  then  pastor  of 
Heneage  Street,  and  subsequently  exercised  a  long  and 
distinguished  ministry  in  Australia.  Mr.  Chapman's 
methods  were  a  little  awe-inspiring  and  wanting  in 
surface  winsomeness  ;  but  his  strength  of  character  was 
felt  and  appreciated  by  these  lads,  who  had  the  stuff  in 
them  of  which  men  are  made,  as  their  after  careers 
have  proved. 

They  loved  their  minister,  if  they  were  now  and  then 
afraid  of  him.  When  one  of  them  went  to  the  vestry 
with  palpitating  heart  to  declare  his  decision  for  Christ, 
and  his  desire  to  join  the  Church,  he  was  dumfounded 
as  the  minister  rose  from  his  chair,  stalked  down  the 
room,  and  exclaimed  in  formal  tones,  'Well,  Master 
William,  what  is  the  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in 
you  ?  • 

But  this  was  just  by  way  of  preliminary  testing  ;  and 
in  a  few  minutes  the  minister  was  sitting  beside  his 
young  friend,  talking  gently,  and  drawing  out  the  boyish 
story  of  trust  and  love.^ 

'  The  following  was  written  by  Grenfell  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  as  to 
the  circumstances  of  his  decision  for  Christ  and  his  consecration  to 
missionary  senice  :   •  My  earliest  religious  impressions  of  a  serious  kind 


Two  Personalities  13 

When  he  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  Birmingham 
some  three  or  four  years  later,  Mr.  Chapman  received 
a  letter  signed  by  George  Grenfell,  Joseph  Hawkes, 
William  Hastings,  and  another,  who  had  joined  the 
Church  under  his  ministry,  begging  him  to  stay.  He 
confessed,  when  his  decision  was  announced,  that  the 
letter  of  these  four  young  men  had  caused  him  even 
greater  hesitation  than  the  formal  appeal  of  the 
Church. 

In  the  Sunday  School  there  were  two  personalities 
which  greatly  influenced  young  George  Grenfell  and  his 
friends  :  one  a  man  of  culture  and  means,  the  other  poor 
and  illiterate ;  but  which  of  the  two  was  the  more 
dominant  and  moulding  force  it  were  perhaps  difficult 
to  determine.  Mr.  George  Cauldwell  was  an  assistant 
master  at  King  Edward's  Grammar  School,  and  a  Bible 
Class  teacher  at  Heneage  Street.  He  took  the  greatest 
interest  in  the  lads  and  young  men  of  the  school,  and 
was  enthusiastic  in  the  matter  of  foreign  missions,  a  fact 
that  doubtless  counted  in  the  shaping  of  Grenfell's 
bent.  The  lads  whom  he  sought  to  serve  profited 
by  his  instructions,  respected  his  abilities,  deferred  to 
his  judgments,  and  responded  to  his  interest  with 
affectionate  regard. 

date  back  to  the  early  sixties,  when  the  great  wave  of  awakening  that 
followed  the  revival  of  '59  was  passing  over  the  country.  I  was  baptised 
in  Birmingham  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Chapman  (subsequently  of  Melbourne, 
Australia)  in  1864.  My  interest  in  Africa  began  even  earlier,  being 
aroused  by  the  pictures  in  Livingstone's  first  book,  and  deepened  when  I 
was  about  ten  years  of  age  by  the  reading  of  the  book  itself.  Among  the 
earliest  of  my  resolves  as  a  Christian  was  that  of  devoting  myself  to  work 
in  Africa,  and,  though  I  cannot  claim  that  it  never  wavered,  it  was 
certainly  ever  after  my  dominant  idea.  It  was  under  the  influence  of 
Mr.  Saker  that  eventually  I  gave  effect  to  the  determination  to  be  a 
missionary.'  For  some  account  of  Mr.  Saker,  see  Alfred  Saker:  the 
Pioneer  of  the  CameroonSy  by  E.  M.  Saker.     R.T.S.,  is.  6d. 


14  Early  Years 

Their  other  friend  and  mentor  was  one  James 
Weston,  an  ironmonger's  out-door  porter,  who  worked 
for  a  small  wage,  lived  in  a  mean  lodging,  knew  nothing 
of  letters  outside  the  Bible,  and  yet  was  a  spiritual  force 
which  counted  for  much  in  the  life  of  Heneage  Street 
Church,  as  was  gladly  confessed  by  the  minister  and  all 
others  who  knew  the  facts.  He  had  an  extraordinary 
influence  over  boys,  and  the  simple  explanation  was 
that  he  loved  Christ  and  he  loved  them.  He  was  a 
Sunday  School  teacher,  and  could  always  command 
a  prayer  meeting  of  forty  boys  after  school.  Some  of 
them  loved  him  so  much  that  they  got  up  early  to 
walk  with  him  to  his  work,  or  waited  about  that  they 
might  return  with  him  at  night. 

Grenfell  was  one  of  his  special  friends,  and  under 
James  Weston's  direction  and  inspiration  he  was  early 
inured  to  the  life  of  strenuous  service.  I  am  under 
obligation  to  Mr.  William  Hastings  for  a  detailed 
account  of  the  Sunday  programme  observed  by  Grenfell 
and  his  friends,  from  the  age  of  sixteen  onwards,  for 
three  or  four  years,  with  hardly  a  break.  The  day 
commenced  with  the  seven  o'clock  prayer  meeting, 
which  James  W^eston  was  very  careful  that  they  should 
attend.  At  nine-thirty  followed  morning  school,  and 
Church  service.  After  service  tracts  were  distributed  in 
assigned  districts.  Afternoon  school  commenced  at 
two-thirty ;  and  after  school,  and  a  hurried  tea,  a  visit 
was  made  to  two  outlying  hamlets,  Washwood  Heath 
and  Ward  End.  Here,  again,  tracts  were  distributed, 
people  conversed  with,  and  an  open-air  service  held 
on    a    piece    of    waste    ground^    opposite    the    Swan 

^  Upon  this  piece  of  ground,  *  consecrated '  by  these  simple  evangelistic 
labours,  now  stands  a  chapel,  belonging  to  the  United  Methodist  Free 
Church. 


The  Minute  Book  15 

Inn  ;  and  it  says  something  for  the  service  that  the 
visitors  at  'The  Swan,'  always  turned  out  to  make 
part  of  the  congregation.  The  day  concluded  with 
the  evening  service  at  Heneage  Street,  and  a  final 
prayer  meeting. 

Grenfell  did  not  preach  in  these  days.  He  was 
content  with  the  humbler  duties  of  visiting  poor  folk  and 
beating  up  an  audience  for  his  friend  James  Weston. 
His  genial,  sympathetic  personality  made  his  visits 
ever  welcome,  and  in  some  of  the  cottages  he  was 
assured  of  affectionate  reception. 

These  Heneage  Street  young  men,  whose  religion 
was  the  first  interest  of  their  lives,  and  who  knew  how 
to  profit  by  the  ministrations  of  pastors  and  teachers, 
took  themselves  seriously,  and  believed  that  they  were 
capable  of  helping  one  another.  There  lies  on  my  desk 
as  I  write  a  MS.  volume,  having  a  printed  inscription  ; 
'  The  Minute  Book  of  the  Bloomsbury  Theological 
Class.'  It  is  an  interesting  document,  and  constitutes 
the  record  of  a  Society  of  some  half  a  dozen  young 
men  who  met  for  mutual  improvement  by  means  of  the 
discussion  of  theological  subjects.  A  preliminary  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  W.  Hawkes, 
168,  Bloomsbury  Street,  on  October  i8,  1866,  and  was 
attended  by  William  Hawkes,  John  Fisher,  William 
Hastings,  George  Grenfell,  and  Joseph  Hawkes,  jun. 
Mr.  Fisher  takes  the  chair  for  the  evening,  and  it  is 
resolved  that  those  present  '  do  form  themselves  into  a 
class  under  the  name  of  the  Bloomsbury  Theological 
Class.'  W.  Hawkes  is  appointed  secretary.  The 
membership  is  limited  to  ten.  Candidates  for  member- 
ship must  be  unanimously  elected.  The  entrance  fee 
is  fixed  at  sixpence.  And  the  following  is  determined 
to  be  the  order  of  procedure  at  meetings  of  the  class : 


1 6  Early  Years 

Commence  at  eight  o'clock  with  election  of  Chairman  ; 
Paper  by  member,  not  to  exceed  twenty  minutes ; 
Criticism  and  discussion  thereon  ;  Close  with  prayer  at 
a  quarter  past  nine.  The  meetings  are  to  be  held  weekly 
at  1 68,  Bloomsbury  Street. 

On  Thursday,  October  25,  the  first  ordinary  meeting 
was  held,  at  which  all  the  members  were  present,  with 
the  addition  of  George  Davis,  who  had  been  nominated 
at  the  preliminary  meeting.  The  paper  read  by  George 
Grenfell  was  entitled  '  A  Few  Remarks  on  the  In- 
spiration of  the  Bible.' 

At  this  stage  the  minutes  are  brief  and  formal.  But 
later  an  abstract  of  the  evening's  paper  is  given,  with 
hints  as  to  the  trend  of  the  discussion.  In  looking  through 
these  minutes  one  is  impressed  by  the  punctilious  order 
of  procedure  observed  by  these  young  and  independent 
students,  the  extreme  gravity  and  the  innocent  audacity 
of  their  discussions.  Their  quarterly  balance  sheet 
never  deals  with  so  great  a  sum  as  twenty  shillings,  but 
it  is  '  audited '  by  an  *  auditor '  who  has  been  appointed 
by  ballot ;  and  no  theme  is  too  august  to  be  tackled  by 
them. 

When  the  class  had  been  in  existence  two  years,  its 
rules  were  revised,  its  meetings  made  fortnightly,  and  a 
programme  of  thirty-one  subjects  drawn  up,  covering 
the  whole  range  of  Biblical  and  Practical  Theology.  But 
in  the  construction  of  this  programme  the  class  seems 
to  have  exhausted  its  waning  energy,  and  within  three 
months  it  was  dissolved  with  formalities  as  exact  as 
those  which  marked  its  institution. 

Among  other  papers  read  by  Grenfell  was  one 
entitled  '  Christian  Amusements,'  concerning  which  the 
minute  records  :  '  He  laid  it  down  that  a  Christian  might 
engage  in  that  upon  which  he  could  conscientiously  ask 


Letter  to  Dr.  Ullathorne      17 

the  blessing  of  God,  Going  into  particulars,  he  objected 
to  Theatres,  Concert  Halls,  Circuses,  Fairs,  Games  of 
Speculation,  and  all  kinds  of  gambling.  He  saw  no 
harm  in  the  games  of  Draughts  and  Chess,  nor  in 
Soirees,  Conversaziones,  Penny  Readings,  etc,  which 
he  thought  might  be  made  conducive  to  good  when 
properly  managed.'  This  reasonably  conservative  pro- 
nouncement occasioned  a  discussion  which  had  to  be 
adjourned ;  and  in  the  end  at  least  two  members  of  the 
class  protested  against  its  laxity. 

About  this  time  there  was  some  public  controversy 
in  Birmingham  concerning  points  of  difference  between 
the  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  Creeds.  And  the 
members  of  the  Bloomsbury  Theological  Class,  always 
taking  themselves  seriously,  sent  a  letter  to  Dr.  Ulla- 
thorne,  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop,  describing  their 
constitution  and  aims,  affirming  their  Protestant  faith, 
but  admitting  that  there  were  matters  under  discussion 
on  which  '  we  are  unwilling  to  pass  judgment  until  we 
have  given  them  our  mature  consideration.*  Such  being 
the  case  they  request  the  Bishop  to  *  appoint  some  one 
who  understands  the  doctrines  of  Roman  Catholicism, 
and  the  foundations  on  which  they  rest,  to  discuss  with 
us  in  a  calm  and  friendly  spirit,  the  points  upon  which 
we  vary  in  belief.'  They  give  little  hope  of  conversion, 
but  promise  *  a  fair  hearing.' 

There  was  no  response,  and  at  a  subsequent  meeting, 
a  second  letter  was  approved,  expostulating  with  the 
Bishop  for  his  lack  of  courtesy  in  failing  to  reply.  This 
second  letter  was  signed  by  George  Grenfell.  Surviving 
members  of  the  '  Class '  smile  at  their  record.  But  it  is 
one  of  which  no  man  need  be  ashamed. 

It  was  through  the  Sunday  School  that  George 
Grenfell   entered  the  Church,  and    his    interest   in  the 

C 


1 8  Early  Years 

school  never  waned.  Early  he  became  a  teacher,  and 
subsequently  rendered  excellent  service  as  secretary  of 
the  girls'  school.  Fellow-workers  still  bear  testimony  to 
the  unfailing  geniality  and  absolute  reliability  which 
made  service  with  him  delightful  and  inspiring.  While 
at  college  he  used  to  tell  a  story  of  his  teaching  ex- 
perience which  will  probably  recall  kindred  quaint 
humiliations  to  the  memory  of  many  readers. 

One  day,  surrounded  by  a  group  of  small  boys,  he 
was  elate  at  having  secured  unwonted  attention.  Every 
eye  was  fixed  upon  him,  and  his  exhortations  became  the 
more  fervid.  Suddenly  he  was  pulled  up  by  the  excla- 
mation from  one  of  his  scholars,  '  Teacher,  will  it  wash  ?  * 

Everybody  who  knew  Grenfell  will  be  able  to  imagine 
the  keen  look,  and  sharp  accent  with  which  he  said, 
'  Wash,  wash ;  will  what  wash  ? ' 

'  Your  new  tie,  teacher,'  came  the  answer.  Alas  !  it 
was  not  his  'doctrine,'  but  his  flaming  bit  of  vanity 
which  had  made  the  great  impression. 

For  Grenfell,  and  two  or  three  of  his  friends,  the 
strenuous  Sunday  which  has  been  described  was  nowise 
followed  by  a  lax  Monday.  The  Rev.  S.  Chapman  was 
succeeded  in  the  pastorate  of  Heneage  Street  by  the 
Rev.  Benwell  Bird,  and  George  Grenfell,  William 
Hastings,  and  Joseph  Hawkes  at  one  period  attended 
a  private  class  at  Mr.  Bird's  residence  on  Monday 
mornings  at  half-past  six  o'clock,  for  the  study  of 
elementary  Greek.  One  surmises  that  love  for  their 
minister  as  well  as  zeal  for  knowledge  incited  these 
young  men  to  practise  so  much  self-denial.  Their 
earnestness  was  beyond  question,  and  Mr.  Hastings 
tells  of  sitting  with  Grenfell  on  the  Malt-house  steps 
at  five  o'clock  on  summer  mornings  as  they  conned 
their  lessons.     Grenfell  was  naturally  affectionate  and 


In  the  Gun-Room  19 

sympathetic,  and  in  this  regard  his  minister  was 
singularly  qualified  to  draw  out  the  best  that  was  in 
him,  and  to  add  to  the  wealth  of  his  soul.  The  friend- 
ship formed  in  those  days  lasted  until  it  was  broken  by 
the  hand  of  death.  But  the  golden  bond  will  be  welded 
again  in  the  glow  of  the  life  beyond. 

The  early  hour  of  the  Monday  morning  class  was,  of 
course,  necessitated  by  the  business  engagements  of  the 
students.  On  leaving  school  Grenfell  was  apprenticed 
to  Messrs.  Scholefield  and  Goodman,  a  firm  of  merchants 
who  dealt  in  hardware  and  machinery.  In  their  shops 
and  warehouses  he  acquired  commercial  and  mechanical 
knowledge  which  proved  of  immense  value  in  his  sub- 
sequent career.  His  diligence  and  aptitude  secured  the 
confidence  of  his  employers,  and  while  still  but  a  senior 
apprentice  he  was  placed  in  responsible  charge  of  the 
gun-room,  where  it  was  his  business  to  examine  and 
pass  for  export  guns  sent  in  by  makers.  If  defect  was 
discovered  he  was  authorized  to  return  the  faulty  gun, 
but  he  took  such  pleasure  in  the  delicate  mechanical 
work  involved,  that  repairs  and  readjustments  were 
often  effected  by  his  own  hands.  So  testifies  his  friend 
Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes,  who  spent  many  hours  with  him  in 
the  gun-room,  discussing  missionary  work,  the  subject 
in  chief  which  stirred  their  ambition  and  shaped  their 
dreams.  At  this  time  David  Livingstone  and  Alfred 
Saker  were  Grenfell's  heroes.  He  read  with  avidity  all 
that  was  published  concerning  them  and  their  work, 
and  his  heart  was  more  and  more  drawn  out  to  Africa, 
for  which  he  was  destined  to  live  and  die. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Alfred  Caulkin  for  the  following 
account  of  the  formation  of  'The  Birmingham  Young 
Men's  Baptist  Missionary  Society,'  in  which  Grenfell  was 
ardently  concerned  :  *  In  the  autumn  of  1871,  the  Rev. 


20  Early  Years 

Goolzar  Shah,  a  native  of  Bengal,  visited  Birmingham 
as  deputation  to  the  Annual  Meetings  of  the  Birming- 
ham Auxiliary  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society.  His 
advocacy  of  the  importance  of  the  better  education  of 
the  sons  of  native  Christians  made  a  great  impression 
upon  the  various  meetings  at  which  he  spoke.  With  a 
view  to  giving  practical  effect  to  this  object  a  meeting 
of  young  men  was  held  on  the  5th  October,  1871,  under 
the  presidency  of  the  late  Mr.  J.  S.  Wright.  At  this 
meeting  it  was  resolved  that  an  association  of  young 
men  be  formed,  to  create  a  deeper  and  wider  interest 
in  Foreign  Missions  and  to  increase  the  support  which 
this  town  now  affords  to  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 
This  end  was  to  be  secured — 

(i)  by  subscriptions  amongst  its  members  ; 

(2)  by  quarterly  meetings  of  its  members  ; 

(3)  by  Sunday  School  addresses  ; 
{4)  by  a  quarterly  publication  ; 
(5)  by  an  annual  meeting. 

'  It  was  also  resolved  that  the  first  efforts  of  the 
society  should  be  made  towards  providing  Christian 
Education  for  youths  in  India. 

'  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  among  the  speakers  at 
the  first  annual  meeting  were  the  Rev.  Charles  Vince, 
the  Rev.  Benwell  Bird,  and  Mr.  J.  S.  Wright.  George 
Grenfell  was  one  of  the  young  men  who  took  an  active 
interest  in  the  formation  of  the  society.  He  was 
appointed  Editor  of  its  magazine,  Mission  Work,  which 
he  most  ably  conducted.  He  was  on  its  list  of  speakers 
giving  periodic  addresses  on  Missionary  topics  in  the 
various  Sunday  Schools,  and  it  was  in  connection  with 
the  work  of  the  Society  that  his  desire  for  Missionary 
work  was  fostered  and  matured.  Many  of  his  closest 
friends  were  among  its  members,  and  he  was  at  various 


The  Quapteply  Mag'azine      21 

times  helped  by  gifts  they  sent  out  to  him  of  lathe 
and  tools  and  other  things  useful  for  his  very  varied 
work.' 

The  first  two  numbers  of  the  Quarterly  magazine, 
Mission  Work,  which  Grenfell  edited,  have  reached  me, 
and  they  do  him  no  small  credit.  A  paragraph  from 
the  first  article,  'Our  Raison  d'etre,'  will  intimate  the 
tone  and  quality  of  the  stuff  he  purposed  to  purvey,  and 
may  be  read  with  profit  still. 

'  With  one  or  two  exceptions,  missionary  periodicals 
confine  their  reports  exclusively  to  the  labours  of  the 
particular  society  with  which  they  are  identified,  but  we 
propose  to  adopt  a  different  course.  The  publications 
of  all  the  Societies  will  be  searched,  and  those  facts 
which  are  of  the  most  general  interest,  and  of  the 
greatest  importance,  will  be  transferred  to  our  own 
columns.  At  present,  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  if  not  of 
convenience.  Missionary  labourers  are  divided  into  party 
sections ;  but  the  success  of  any  one  mission  is  God's 
blessing  for  all  mankind,  and  should  be  used  as  a 
Divine  encouragement  to  all  workers  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  There  is  no  single  society  which  is  strong 
enough,  and  rich  enough  in  resources,  to  occupy  the 
whole  field ;  but  that  is  no  reason  why  its  supporters 
should  not  be  wise  enough  to  gather  materials  for 
thankfulness  and  stimulus  from  every  region.  No 
mafter  by  whom  or  where  the  Gospel  is  preached,  every 
one  of  its  victories  should  be  gratefully  received  by  all 
the  Churches  in  Christendom  for  the  sustenance  of  their 
common  faith  in  God,  and  their  common  love  to  Him 
who  died  to  redeem  the  human  race.  The  "  Birmingham 
Young  Men's  Baptist  Missionary  Society  "  will  be  able 
to  work  in  only  one  small  sub-division  of  the  divided 
field,  but  its  members  must  strive  to  cherish  that  broad 


2  2  Early  Years 

spirit  which  gladly  drinks  in  hope  from  every  stream 
of  success  wherewith  our  Lord  doth  refresh  the  waste 
places  of  the  earth.  In  order  to  promote  this  end, 
"  their  own  Magazine "  will,  from  time  to  time,  set 
before  them  proofs  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe  that 
the  Gospel  is,  as  of  old,  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation.' 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  with  certainty,  at  this 
date,  what  pages  of  the  Magazine  were  written  by  the 
Editor ;  but  each  of  the  first  two  numbers  contains  an 
article,  signed  'Delta/  which  may  be  ascribed  to 
Grenfell's  pen.  The  first  is  entitled  *  The  Threepenny- 
bit  at  the  Missionary  Meeting.'  The  temptation  to 
quote  extensively  is  strong,  but  a  sentence  or  two  must 
suffice :  *  There  is  no  mistake  that  the  threepenny-bit 
may  read  out  a  salutary  lesson  to  many  of  its  older  and 
bigger  brothers.  .  .  .  How  seldom  do  we  hear  a  hundred- 
pound  cheque  say,  "  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto 
me,  let  us  go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord."  If  a  ten- 
pound  note  goes  to  a  religious  collection  once  in  its  life- 
time it  thinks  it  may  walk  in  the  counsel  of  the  ungodly 
all  the  rest  of  its  days  ;  while  a  sovereign,  putting  in  its 
appearance  with  its  smaller  relations  on  the  plate,  excites 
in  the  mind  of  the  deacon  an  unpleasant  misgiving  that 
somehow  or  other  it  has  got  on  the  wrong  track.  ...  A 
man  with  only  a  threepenny-bit  in  his  pocket  cannot 
travel  very  far,  and  a  man  with  only  a  threepenny-bit  in 
his  mind  cannot  go  much  farther.' 

The  date  of 'Mission  Work,  No.  i,'  is  January,  1873. 
An  article,  entitled  '  Holy  Week  in  Hayti,'  is  from  the 
pen  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Hawkes,  Baptist  Missionary  at 
Jacmel.  Grenfell's  closest  friend  had  entered  the 
service  he  had  long  desired  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  his 
friend's    departure    precipitated    his    own    decision    to 


Obstacles  Removed  23 

become  a  missionary.  There  had  been  some  wavering 
shortly  prior  to  this,  and  he  had  entered  into  business  on 
his  own  account,  with  a  view  to  settlement  at  home. 
But  the  call  was  not  to  be  evaded,  and  the  following 
entry  from  the  Heneage  Street  Church  Minute  Book 
proves  that  the  die  was  cast. 

'Mr.  George  Grenfell  having  made  a  statement 
expressing  his  desire  to  devote  his  life  to  Missionary 
work,  it  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Cockshott,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Silman,  "That  this  church  having  heard  from 
Mr.  G.  Grenfell  of  his  desire  to  labour  among  the 
heathen,  and  having  the  fullest  confidence  in  his  moral 
character,  and  in  his  fitness  for  the  work,  most  cordially 
commends  him  to  the  Collegiate  committee  of  the 
Midland  Baptist  Association,  with  the  view  of  his  being 
sent  to  one  of  the  Colleges  in  order  to  be  prepared  for 
Missionary  work." ' 

There  ensued  delays  which  meant  trial  for  Grenfell's 
ardent  soul,  and  Mr.  Bird  recalls  that  during  this  period 
he  preached  one  Sunday  morning  on  the  text,  '  Wait 
on  the  Lord  and  keep  His  way.'  After  the  service 
Grenfell  came  to  the  vestry  and  expressed  gratitude 
for  the  message,  which  was  a  word  from  God  to  him 
in  circumstances  which  called  for  patience  and  the 
steadfast  discharge  of  present  duty. 

His  patience  was  rewarded  in  God's  due  time. 
Obstacles  were  removed.  Business  was  relinquished, 
in  spite  of  hopeful  prospects;  and  in  September,  1873, 
Grenfell  was  received  at  Bristol  College  as  a  proba- 
tionary student. 


CHAPTER  II 
COLLEGE  DAYS 

The  Baptist  College,  Bristol— Stokes  Croft  in  Grenfell's  Day— 
The  College  Traditions  —  Dr.  Gotch  and  his  Methods— 
The  Rev.  J.  G.  Greenhough  —  College  Life  and  Ex- 
periences Described— Robert  Hall's  Oddities— Accepted  as 
Full  Student— Thoughts  of  Africa— Dr.  Underbill's  Letter— Pos- 
sible Call— Recreation — The  Rev.  H.  C.  Bailey's  Recollections— 
'A  Near  Thing'— The  Summons— Letter  from  Mr.  Saker— 
Accepted  for  the  Cameroons  —  Preparations  —  Designation 
Service— Saker  and  the  Slave-trade— Liverpool  Experiences  — 
Personal  Recollections— Grenfell  at  College— And  Thirty  Years 
Later. 

THE  Baptist  College,  Bristol,  which  Grenfell  entered 
in  September,  1873,  stands  in  Stokes  Croft.  The 
name  of  its  location  is  suggestive  of  rural  quiet.  And 
indeed  at  the  time  of  its  erection  the  present  grim  and 
venerable  building  would  be  more  in  the  country  than  in 
the  town.  It  was  then  remotely  suburban,  and  students, 
dwelling  in  an  atmosphere  of  academic  stillness,  could 
walk  out  to  meditate  in  the  fields,  which  swept  up  in 
green  undulations  to  the  walls  of  their  home  of  learning. 
Time  and  progress  have  altered  that.  Stokes  Croft 
is  a  roaring  city  street,  and  the  present-day  student, 
who  wishes  to  meditate  in  the  fields  without  loss  of 
time,  will  catch  the  electric  tram,  which  clangs  its  bell 
at  his  door,  and  be  whirled  away  through  miles  of 
bricks  and   mortar  before  the   green,  quiet  spaces   for 


stokes  Cpoft  25 

which  his  soul  longs  come  into  view.     But  the  days  of 
the  old  place  are  already  numbered. 

In  1873  Stokes  Croft,  though  far  from  being  rural, 
was  still  suburban.  The  noise  of  traffic  was  less  con- 
tinuous, the  surrounding  greenery  was  ampler  and  less 
smoke-blighted,  and  the  fields  were  still  not  far.  The 
gaunt,  rectangular  stone  building  was  as  it  is,  and  often 
elicited  from  passing  strangers  unflattering  inquiries  as 
to  its  character  and  uses.  (It  is  an  old  tradition  that 
the  architect  was  expert  in  gaol-building.)  But  the  life 
within  was  bright  and  buoyant,  perhaps  to  a  fault,  and 
many  men,  to  the  end  of  their  course,  will  remember 
Bristol  College  with  wistful  gratitude,  and  will  see  its 
heavy  frowning  walls  touched  with  beauty  by  the  toned 
lights  of  dear  days  that  are  dead. 

The  College  has  great  traditions.  The  names  of 
Andrew  Gifford,  Dr.  Ryland,  John  Foster,  and  Robert 
Hall  lend  lustre  to  its  annals.  Its  library  and  museum 
contain  treasures  of  unique  interest  and  inestimable  value. 
In  1873  the  Principal,  the  Rev.  F.  W.  Gotch,  LL.D., 
was  one  of  the  greatest  living  Biblical  scholars,  and  was 
engaged  with  others  at  that  time  upon  the  revision  of 
the  Old  Testament.  His  methods  in  the  lecture-room 
were  unconventional,  and  in  the  technique  of  teaching 
he  might  easily  have  been  surpassed.  But  he  possessed 
a  mind  of  great  breadth  and  refinement,  commanded 
the  respect  of  all  his  students,  won  the  reverent  affection 
of  many,  and  went  far  to  create  an  atmosphere  favour- 
able to  mental  and  spiritual  growth.  Gentle,  genial, 
indulgent,  he  yet  carried  himself  with  a  calm,  old-world 
dignity  which  discouraged  the  taking  of  liberties,  and 
precluded  the  thought  of  rebellion.  Possibly  he  may 
have  been  a  little  too  tolerant  of  the  'high  spirits' 
of  some  of  the  young  men   committed  to  his  charge. 


26  College  Days 

But  his  rule  was  more  successful  than  that  of  many  a 
martinet. 

Old  students  of  Grenfell's  time  will  well  remember 
how  at  the  commencement  of  each  session,  when  fresh- 
men were  present,  'the  Doctor*  gravely  produced  a 
little  code  of  'Rules  of  the  House'  and  read  them 
through,  adding  brief  words  to  this  effect :  '  Now  you 
have  heard  the  rules,  and  I  shall  trust  you  to  keep 
them.  I  do  not  expect  to  have  to  look  after  you  as 
schoolboys.  I  shall  assume  that  you  are  gentlemen 
until  you  prove  the  contrary.' 

Yet  in  certain  minor  matters  of  order  Dr.  Gotch 
could  be  punctilious,  and  when  displeased  could  be 
severe.  Upon  one  occasion  Grenfell  was  subject  to 
sharp  rebuke.  The  rebuke  was  unmerited  and  was 
administered  in  mistake.  Grenfell's  quick,  sensitive 
nature  was  instantly  up  in  arms,  and  he  talked  to  '  the 
Doctor*  as  perhaps  no  other  man  in  the  house  would 
have  dared  to  do.  But  Dr.  Gotch,  who  was  more  than 
just,  instantly  made  amends,  and  by  the  untoward 
incident  the  mutual  respect  of  the  two  men  was 
deepened. 

There  is  another  man,  happily  still  with  us,  who 
must  be  mentioned  as  exercising  marked  influence  upon 
Grenfell  during  his  short  student  course.  The  Rev. 
J.  G.  Greenhough,  M.A.,  commenced  his  ministry  at 
Gotham  Grove,  Bristol,  some  few  months  before  Gren- 
fell entered  College,  and  Mr.  Greenhough's  coming  to 
Bristol  marked  an  epoch  in  the  lives  of  many  of  the 
students.  Later  he  became  tutor  in  Logic  and  Church 
History,  but  prior  to  his  formal  connection  with  the 
College  his  influence  was  great.  The  men  flocked  to 
hear  the  young  man  who  was  *  the  Doctor's '  pastor,  and 
for  whom  'the  Doctor's'  admiration  was  neither  silent 


HENEAGE    STREET    BAPTIST  CHURCH,   BIRMINGHAM. 

Inset— Grenfell  Memorial  Tablet  in  Heneage  Street  Church. 

Photos  :  T.  Lewis,  Biniiinglmin. 


BAPTIST    COLLEGE,    STOKKb   CKOFT,    BRISTOL. 
Photo  :  W.  H.  Midwinter  &  Co. 


The  Limp  of  Vulcan  27 

nor  stinted  ;  and  hearing  him  they  heard  a  voice  that 
was  not  an  echo,  and  craved  for  more.  Evangelical, 
devout,  modern,  original,  full  of  surprises,  placing  old 
truth  in  new  light,  tender,  consolatory,  and  at  times 
ruthless  in  sarcasm,  Mr.  Greenhough's  sermons  held 
many  of  his  hearers  spell-bound.  His  English  always 
virile,  often  exquisite,  never  high-flown,  had  singular 
fascination  for  men  who  were  striving  for  mastery  in 
the  use  of  their  own  tongue. 

For  Grenfell  and  fellow-students  who  were  sympa- 
thetic, those  Sundays  in  Gotham  Grove  were  never  to 
be  forgotten.  Writing  long  years  after  to  Mrs. 
Greenhough,  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  a  volume 
of  her  husband's  sermons,  Grenfell  remarks  that  as  he 
reads  with  delight  he  can  hear  them  delivered  in  the  old 
Gotham  Grove  manner.  That  manner  was  distinctive, 
but  open  to  criticism.  Mr.  Greenhough  was  careless  of 
the  graces  of  elocution.  To  enthusiastic  disciples,  how- 
ever, the  foibles  of  the  teacher  were  dear  as  other  men's 
excellences,  and  sure  to  be  repeated.  More  than  one 
Bristol  student  has  felt  himself  flattered  by  being  told 
that  he  reminded  a  hearer  of  Mr.  Greenhough ;  not 
reflecting  that  '  it  is  one  thing  to  mimic  the  limp  of 
Vulcan,  another  to  forge  the  shield  of  Achilles.* 

Grenfell's  earlier  College  experiences  were  not 
entirely  happy,  and  in  this  he  was  not  peculiar.  The 
custom  of  mildly  *  ragging '  freshmen  obtained,  and  his 
earnest  soul  and  sensitive  nature  revolted  against  what 
struck  him  as  frivolous  and  unseemly  boyishness.  An 
accidental  circumstance  may  have  accentuated  the 
trouble  in  his  case.  The  men  of  each  year,  according 
to  College  custom,  constituted  themselves  a  kind  of 
informal  society  in  the  house,  and  held  together  for 
pleasure  or  for  pain.      The  men  of  the  previous  year, 


28  Colleg'e  Days 

who  were  *  Second  year '  men  when  Grenfell  entered, 
numbered  six.  But  for  the  first  half  of  the  session 
Grenfell's  '  year '  included  only  himself  and  another 
freshman.  In  their  tribulations,  therefore,  they  lacked 
the  force  of  numbers  for  offering  resistance  and  making 
reprisals.  However,  it  was  soon  manifest  to  himself 
and  others  that  Grenfell  was  well  able  to  take  care 
of  himself;  the  soreness  wore  away,  and  he  quickly 
attained  to  good-fellowship  with  all  the  men  in  the 
house  who  were  worthy  of  his  friendship  or  his  steel. 

In  the  following  extracts  from  a  series  of  letters 
addressed  to  his  friend  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis, of  Birmingham, 
the  reader  will  be  glad  to  find  glimpses  of  Grenfell's 
College  life  and  phases  of  his  experience  conveyed  in 
his  own  words. 

'  September  27,  1873.  You  ask  me  to  tell  you  all 
about  College  life.  Well,  I  have  not  time  to  write 
a  book,  but  my  experience  would  fill  one.  First  the 
men,  seventeen  of  us,  some  of  all  sorts :  two  or  three 
scholars,  two  or  three  wits,  but  the  majority — well, 
I  don't  know  whether  Christian  charity  will  permit 
a  definite  expression.  They  are  mostly  my  juniors 
in  years,  but  my  seniors  in  learning,  and  with  that 
patronizing  air  that  is  so  objectionable,  two  or  three 
have  aroused  my  ire.  Freshmen  are  for  the  nonce 
the  subjects  of  general  tirades.  One  or  two  I  have 
shut  up  by  dropping  on  them  heavily,  and  showing 
them  I  would  not  be  fooled.  ...  I  have  really  got 
angry  three  times,  but  each  time  it  was  righteous  anger, 
and  the  showing  of  my  teeth  proved  to  be  judicious, 
for  three  fellows  have  stopped  their  boyish  tricks.' 

There  follows  the  story  of  a  quaint  but  extremely 
annoying  bit  of  mischief,  and  then  occurs  this  sentence : 
'  There's    a   boyishness   about    many   of  the   fellows    I 


Robert  Hall  29 

can't  do  with.  When  they  pass  you,  they  must  pinch 
and  catch  hold  of  you,  and  that's  another  of  the 
things  I  have  stopped  as  regards  myself.  .  .  .  The 
place  is  fraught  with  queer  stories.  Every  study  has 
its  legend  and  peculiar  history.  Their  several  doors 
still  testify  to  the  sieges  they  have  stood. 

*  Robert  Hall's  oddities  afford  themes  for  many  yarns 
of  which  the  fellows  are  very  fond.  Opposite  the  College 
used  to  stand  "  The  Moon  Hotel."  Its  sign,  after  the 
wont  of  signs  of  the  times,  used  to  "hang  out"  and 
swing  in  the  wind.  It  wanted  oiling,  and  thus  terribly 
annoyed  Robert  Hall.  One  night  he  got  a  ladder  and 
took  it  down.  A  student  was  suspected.  Proprietor 
comes  across.  Inquiry  is  instituted  before  the  assembled 
house.  No  one  knows  anything.  Then  it  is  discovered 
that  Hall  is  not  present.  Suspicion  points  to  him. 
Inquiries  are  made  at  his  study  door,  which  is  found 
to  be  locked.  No  answer.  The  Tutor  makes  appeal, 
and  after  a  time  elicits  from  the  inmate  of  the  study : 
"  A  wicked  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a 
sign  ;  and  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  unto  it."  More 
particulars  about  present  mode  of  life  next  time.  I  am 
comfortable.  Good  food,  good  accommodation,  and  a 
glorious  end  to  work  for.' 

'November  i.  If  you  can  come,  the  day  you  arrive 
will  make  an  oasis  in  a  very  weary  land  as  regards 
friendships.  College  chums  somehow  don't  get  near  to 
one  another.  Perhaps  we  look  at  each  other's  faults  too 
closely.  Our  number  is  reduced  to  fourteen  this  week, 
three  men  having  left.  On  Tuesday,  one  went  to 
Glasgow:  yesterday  one  got  married  (so  he  went 
"  doublin  " — forgive  me).  He's  bound  for  Jamaica  on 
the  17th.  Another  of  our  men  is  going  with  him  for 
his  health.     He  is  consumptive,  and  it  is  his  only  chance 


30  Colleg'e  Days 

of  life,  and  that  a  very  slender  one.     He  is  the  cleverest 
man  in  the  house.  .  .  . 

*  You  ask  for  particulars  of  how  I  get  on  and  spend 
my  time.  Well,  first  I  find  staying  up  late  easier  than 
getting  up  early,  so  I  generally  retire  at  one  a.m.,  and 
get  up  before  eight  in  the  morning.  Prayers  at  quarter- 
past  eight,  at  which  the  students  in  rotation  officiate. 
Breakfast,  half-past  eight :  Lunch,  half-past  eleven  : 
Dinner,  half-past  two  :  Tea,  five  :  Supper,  nine  :  Prayers, 
half-past  nine.  No  classes  after  dinner,  or  on  Saturdays. 
I  preach  my  seventh  sermon  since  I  have  been  here, 
to-morrow.  On  Tuesdays  the  students  read  in  rotation 
a  sermon,  which  is  criticized  by  Principal,  Tutor,  and 
students,  and  a  nice  flaying  the  poor  wretch  gets.  I 
won't  be  accountable  for  my  deeds  when  my  turn 
comes.' 

Then  the  rod  falls  upon  the  peccant  men  of  the 
*  Second  year.'  But  as  they  have  doubtless  long  since 
atoned  for  their  youthful  foibles,  they  shall  be  spared 
the  re-infliction.  '  College  life  is  not  all  plain  sailing. 
It  has  many  hard  lines,  as  well  as  pleasant  places.  But 
I  am  glad  I  am  here,  and  hope  to  benefit  by  it,  as  I 
have  no  doubt  I  shall.  Missionary  enthusiasm  is  very 
low,  and  the  decay  of  mine  is  still  predicted,  as  many 
have  entered  with  missionary  intentions,  but  have 
relinquished  them.'^ 

*  November  27.  I'd  like  "  to  do "  Ruskin,  but 
haven't    touched    anything     lighter     than     Macaulay's 

'  If  the  missionary  enthusiasm  of  the  College  was  at  low  ebb  in 
Grenfell's  day,  the  tide  quickly  turned.  Subsequent  to  his  departure  for 
Africa  forty  Bristol  students  have  entered  the  mission  field.  Some  are 
rendering  distinguished  and  heroic  service  to-day  ;  and  some,  being  faithful 
unto  death,  have  received  the  crown  of  Life.  The  Bristol  'Students' 
Missionary  Association,'  formed  in  1 878,  is  a  vigorous  and  influential 
auxiliary  of  the  B.M.S. 


Grind,  Grind,  Grind  31 

Essays  since  I've  been  here.  It's  grind,  grind,  grind. 
Last  week  I  hadn't  my  boots  on  from  Sunday  till 
Saturday  afternoon — only  slippers,  for  I  hadn't  been 
out  during  the  interval. 

*  My  turn  to  be  immolated  does  not  come  till  after 
Christmas,  thank  goodness.  It's  a  wretched  business. 
No  milk  of  human  kindness  ;  all  knives  are  whetted  for 
the  occasion,  and  no  quarter.  The  Doctor's  criticism 
lasts  from  half  to  one  hour,  and  pretty  scathing  it  is. 

'On  Sunday  last  Woolley  and  I  rode  twelve  miles 
out  to  a  little  chapel  in  the  Mendip  Hills  to  take  two 
services,  and  a  glorious  day  we  had.  The  weather  was 
fine,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  went  up  one  of  the  hills 
and  had  a  magnificent  view  of  sea  and  land.  He 
preached  in  the  morning :  I  at  night.' 

'December  12.  I  am  happy  to  tell  you  I  shall  soon 
be  in  Birmingham.  All  being  well  I  shall  arrive  on 
Friday  next  by  the  train  due  at  6.40.  Woolley  (a 
Graham  Street  man  in  our  house)  comes  with  me. 
After  a  little  agitation  we  have  had  our  holidays 
lengthened  so  as  to  have  three  weeks  clear. 

'My  probationary  period  is  now  concluded,  and 
yesterday  at  a  general  Committee  meeting,  I  was 
accepted  a  full  student. 

'After  our  return  our  numbers  will  be  increased 
by  three,  one  a  "  canny  Scot,"  late  of  Knight's  (of  prayer 
notoriety)  Congregation,  Dundee. 

'  I'm  very  busy  just  now  grinding  up  the  first  three 
chapters  of  Butler's  Analogy,  second  part,  for  an 
examination  on  Friday  next,  the  morning  of  the  last 
day  before  Xmas  holidays.  An  hour's  work  this 
evening  will  finish  all  the  routine  lessons  for  next  week 
and  leave  every  hour,  except  class  hours,  disengaged 
for  Butler.     It's  stiff  sort  of  stuff  to  get  up.     I'm  trying 


32  Colleg'e  Days 

to  memorize,  but  forty  pages  will  be  too  much  verbatim 
I  fancy,  as  I  have  only  done  about  four  yet,  and  got 
a  fair  general  notion  of  the  first  chapter. 

*  On  Sunday  I  commence  the  duties  of  monitor  for 
the  week,  which  involves  my  getting  up,  ringing  the 
prayer  bell,  and  marking  attendance  at  prayers  ;  and 
if  any  funerals  come  in,  I  shall  have  to  officiate.  It's 
trying  sort  of  weather  just  now. 

*  Last  week  two  of  our  men  tried  to  frighten  me  by 
dressing  a  dummy,  and  fixing  it  in  my  bedroom.  I 
sewed  their  night-shirt  sleeves  up,  and  had  the  laugh  at 
them  at  breakfast. 

*  It  is  drawing  so  near  to  Xmas  that  we  are  getting 
disorganized,  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  exam,  there 
would  be  very  little  work  done  till  after  the  holidays. 
Anxiety  to  get  away  is  becoming  universal,  and  the 
time  table  is  studied  with  greater  avidity  than  the 
Classics.  I'm  rather  glad  I'm  not  preaching  to-morrow 
under  the  circumstances.     I  had  two  services  last  week.' 

'  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  you  again.  If  you  can't 
manage  to  meet  me  when  I  arrive,  you  will  be  sure  to 
see  me  at  Heneage  Street  on  Sunday.' 

'January  20,  1874.  I  am  sticking  closer  to  work 
this  half  than  I  did  last  and  hope  to  accomplish  more, 
but  it  is  wonderful  what  a  lot  of  time  it  takes  to  get 
over  the  ground.  .  .  . 

*  I  am  looking  forward  to  seeing  you  soon,  it  seems 
such  an  age  since  Christmas,  which  has  sunk  into  the 
very  far  past  already  ;  and  to  think  it  is  not  a  fortnight 
since  I  saw  you  appears  an  absurdity.  My  whole 
holiday  seems  to  have  very  little  more  reality  than 
many  a  dream  that  has  left  its  impression  to  linger  for  a 
while.    As  tales  that  are  told  so  pass  our  days,  and  I  am 


A  Touch  of  the  'Blues'       33 

disgusted  at  their  apparent  fruitlessness.  Here  have 
I  lived  in  the  world  these  four  and  twenty  years,  and 
have  not  yet  begun  to  do,  only  to  prepare ;  and  I've 
always  been  "going"  to  do.  I  wonder  if  my  life  will 
be  as  resultless  in  the  future  as  it  has  been  in  the  past ; 
if  this  "  getting  ready "  is  to  be  the  chronic  condition 
of  my  being  ? 

*  You'll  say  I've  got  the  "  Blues."  Perhaps  a  touch. 
One  spends  many  a  quiet  hour  here  and  can't  help 
thinking  at  times,  and  to  look  forward  so  far  without 
a  definite  outline  of  the  course  of  events  presenting 
itself  is  not  altogether  soothing  to  one  blessed  with  my 
impatience. 

'  I'm  ashamed  of  my  letter  now  I've  finished  it, 
when  I  consider  its  grumbling  tones  and  then  consider 
the  grandness  of  the  work  to  which  I  aspire.  I  can't 
expect  to  forge  the  weapons  for  so  great  a  fight  in  a 
hurry.     If  I  do  I  must  not  expect  them  to  wear.' 

The  following  letter  dated  February  ii,  from  Dr. 
Underhill,  Secretary  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society, 
shows  that  Grenfell  had  offered  himself  to  the  Com- 
mittee for  service  in  Africa. 

'  It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  reply  to  your  note.  Of 
course  I  cannot  say  confidently  how  we  may  be  situated 
at  a  time  yet  future;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  we 
must  look  for  a  new  man  for  Africa.  Indeed,  we  are 
waiting  chiefly  to  see  Mr.  Saker  before  we  move  in  the 
matter,  and  he  is  expected  to  arrive  very  shortly. 

'  He  is  now  so  worn  and  weary  that  we  must  ere 
long  give  him  the  help  he  so  greatly  needs,  and  this 
can  be  best  arranged  in  conference  with  him.  I  hope, 
therefore,  that  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  months 
the  Committee  will  be  able  definitely  to  fix  on  their 
course.     There  is  no  reason  that  I  know  of  why  you 

D 


34  Colleg'e  Days 

should  not  undertake  the  service  when  the  time  comes. 
Let  us  seek  for  Divine  guidance  in  this,  and  to  God's 
grace  I  commend  you.' 

Grenfell's  reply  was  as  follows  : — 
'Your  kind    letter   of    the    nth   instant   contained 
very  welcome  information  respecting  a  probable  open- 
ing in  a  sphere  of  labour  I  should  indeed  be  very  happy 
to  fill. 

'  I  have  placed  your  letter  before  Dr.  Gotch  and 
he  has  promised  his  ready  sanction  to  any  steps  it 
may  be  necessary  for  me  to  take  in  the  matter  of 
placing  myself  at  the  disposal  of  the  Missionary 
Committee  with  regard  to  the  Cameroons  Mission.' 

Respecting  these  letters  Grenfell  remarked,  'Of 
course  all  this  is  tentative.  It  may  or  may  not  be. 
If  it  is  God's  Will,  I  go— if  not,  I'm  content  to  be 
disappointed.' 

In  May  he  wrote  to  his  friend — 
'  Dr.  Gotch  has  been  talking  to  Dr.  Underhill  about 
me  during  the  last  two  visits  he  has  made  to  London. 
And  the  last  I  heard  was  that  I  might  expect  to  go 
when  the  hot  weather  has  passed.  Of  course  nothing 
is  definite  (catch  the  Baptist  Missionary  Committee 
doing  anything  of  a  definite  character!).  It  seems  to 
me  that  all  depends  upon  Saker. 

'All  being  well,  I  shall  be  in  Birmingham  for  the 
vacation  in  less  than  five  weeks,  and  I  shall  truly 
rejoice  if  I  don't  come  back  again,  but  have  to  clap 
my  glad  wings  and  fly  away  to  Afric's  sunny  foun- 
tains. The  great  responsibility,  however,  of  under- 
taking the  work  sometimes  weighs  very  heavily  upon 
me,  and  I  wish  myself  a  better,  stronger,  and  abler 
man ;  but  if  it's  God's  Will,  I  shall  go,  and  shall  have 
strength  even  as  my  day.' 


Along  the  Quays  35 

It  was  not  quite  all  'grind,  grind,  grind'  at  Bristol 
College,  and  even  for  so  serious  a  student  as  Grenfell 
there  were  hours  of  recreation,  some  grave  and  some 
less  grave.  The  following  paragraph  from  a  letter 
written  by  his  fellow-student,  the  Rev.  H.  C.  Bailey,  of 
St.  Austell,  is  valuable  alike  for  its  reminiscence  and 
appreciation. 

'Grenfell  and  I  entered  College  together  in  September, 
1873,  just  we  two.  Hawker,  Baillie  and  Voice  came  in 
at  Christmas  following.  .  .  .  Grenfell  and  I  spent  the 
Saturday  afternoons  together  down  by  the  river-side, 
along  the  quays  and  Cumberland  Basin.  He  always 
preferred  this  walk,  and  took  the  greatest  interest  in 
the  ships— their  various  freights,  ports  of  sailing,  rig, 
methods  of  loading  and  discharge. 

*  He  was  not  a  student  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the 
word.  Preparation  for  Class  was  tedious  and  irksome 
to  him,  although  he  always  conscientiously  did  his  work. 
His  genius  was  more  of  the  practical  and  executive 
kind — great  taste  for  mechanics.  We  all  used  to  say 
that  he  would  have  made  a  first-rate  engineer.  We 
often  talked  about  Africa.  Alfred  Saker  next  to 
Livingstone  was  his  hero,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
character  and  work  of  Saker  had  a  great  deal  to  do  in 
kindling  his  missionary  enthusiasm  and  shaping  his 
missionary  ideals.' 

Anent  his  recreations  I  may  here  insert  a  personal 
reminiscence.  One  afternoon  Grenfell,  another  student 
and  I,  took  a  boat  at  Bristol  Bridge  intending  to  row  to 
Hanham,  three  or  four  miles  up  the  river.  Shortly 
after  starting,  and  a  little  on  the  home  side  of  St. 
Philip's  Bridge,  where  stone  walls  rise  sheer  from  the 
thick,  stagnant  water,  we  narrowly  escaped  disaster.  I 
was  steering.     The  second  man  was  small  and  light  of 


36  Colleg-e  Days 

weight.  Grenfell  was  pulling  mischievously  hard,  and 
the  other  was  doing  all  he  knew  to  keep  things  even. 
The  rowing  was  wild,  and  inauspiciously  our  friend 
dropped  his  oar  upon  a  floating  island  of  rubbish, 
and  pulled.  The  oar  flashed  through  the  unresisting 
air,  and  the  rower  was  instantly  upon  his  back  at 
the  bottom  of  the  boat,  counting  only  as  ballast. 
Meanwhile  Grenfell  had  a  big  grip  of  the  water,  and 
the  side  of  the  boat  sank  to  his  stroke.  I  used  my 
little  weight  for  all  that  it  was  worth,  and  we  managed 
to  right  ourselves.  But  it  was  a  near  thing  ;  and  as  we 
looked  at  the  muddy  water  and  at  those  slimy  and 
forbidding  walls,  we  were  not  a  little  thankful  that  we 
had  escaped  capsizing.  My  gratitude  was  revived  a  few 
months  ago,  when  I  read  in  the  newspaper  of  a  sailor 
and  his  sweetheart  who  were  drowned  at  the  same  spot, 
possibly  the  victims  of  a  kindred  mishap.  There  was 
no  more  wild  rowing  for  us  that  day. 

Grenfell  did  return  to  College  after  the  vacation,  but 
his  stay  was  brief.  On  October  i,  he  writes  from  the 
College  to  his  friend  Mills,  who  had  lately  settled  at 
Blisworth — 

*  Here's  news — Copy  of  letter  from  Saker — 

"My  Dear  Brother, 

"Your  note  of  the  28th  inst.  has  been  for- 
warded to  me  and  I  haste  to  send  a  line. 

"  I  have  been  somewhat  concerned  about  fixing  the 
time  of  my  return  to  Africa.  A  continued  weakness 
has  made  me  hesitate.  I  dread  meeting  a  winter 
here,  and  besides,  the  Mission  in  Africa  needs  my 
presence.  So  I  hope  to  make  arrangements  soon 
and  will  write  to  you.  As  preparatory  to  your 
going   the   Committee  will  want  interviews  with  you, 


Accepted  for  Service         z7 

and  all  will  depend  on  the  result  of  such  interviews, 
which  I  am  confident  will  be  favourable.  For  myself, 
I  have  been  looking  forward  to  the  day  of  embarking 
with  you  for  Africa  with  much  satisfaction — seeing  in 
this  the  providential  arrangement  of  our  Heavenly 
Father  for  sustaining  the  work  which  I  fear  I  must 
soon  leave.  By  a  note  from  Dr.  Underhill  this 
morning  I  learn  that  on  returning  from  Newcastle 
he  will  open  correspondence  with  you :  and  if  possible 
I  will  meet  you  in  London.  In  a  few  days  I  leave 
for  Scotland,  and  on  my  return  will  write,  unless  I 
meet  you  in  London  or  Chatham." 

'  I  think  you'll  agree  with  me  in  saying  the  foregoing 
Is  encouraging.  The  Committee  have  settled  all  about 
Saker,  and  have  passed  the  following  resolution :  "  That 
a  suitable  person  be  engaged  to  go  with  Mr.  Saker,  and 
that  Mr.  Saker  be  requested  to  accompany  the  said 
young  man  to  introduce  him  into  the  work." 

'  I  shall  be  very  glad  when  it  is  all  settled,  and 
altho'  I  know  God's  Hand  is  in  it  all,  even  the 
delays,  I  am  apt  to  get  impatient.     Poor  mortality ! ' 

Shortly  after  (November  lo,  1874)  Grenfell  was 
definitely  accepted  for  service  at  the  Cameroons,  by 
the  Committee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  and 
there  ensued  some  weeks  of  going  to  and  fro,  paying 
farewell  visits,  and  securing  the  necessary  outfit. 

On  November  18  he  writes  again  to  Mr.  Thomas 
Lewis :  '  I'm  glad  it's  all  settled,  all  except  the  date, 
which  Saker  says  may  be  the  28th  inst.  I'm  busy 
packing  and  getting  my  outfit  ready,  and  am  nearly 
off  my  head  on  account  of  the  stupidity  of  men  in 
general  and  some  in  particular.  It  seems  as  tho' 
there  were  an  evil  spirit  presiding  over  packing  and 
getting  ready,  which    insinuates  all  sorts  of  obstacles 


38  Colleg'e  Days 

and  delays.  For  instance,  Shoemaker,  after  delay  of 
some  few  days  informs  me  he  can  only  execute  part 
(the  best)  of  my  order ;  I've  to  arrange  with  some  one 
else  for  the  remainder.  The  maker  of  my  sham  visual 
organs  says  the  annealing  process  is  such  that  I  must 
not  expect  my  extra  half-dozen  for  the  present.  He 
will  use  all  speed,  but  cannot  promise  definitely — and 
so  on,  and  so  on. 

'There  is  to  be  a  sort  of  designation  service  at 
Bristol  some  time  next  week  I  think,  and  I  believe  a 
meeting  of  some  kind  will  be  enlivened  by  sending-off 
proceedings  on  my  part  in  dingy  old  Birmingham  ere 
I  leave.  I  wish  I  could  get  off  quietly,  and  get  back 
again  ere  they  make  any  fuss. 

*  You  may  perhaps  remember  the  name  of  •*  Coats," 
Paisley.  Mr.  Coats  has  shown  his  appreciation  of  Saker 
by  presenting  to  the  Mission  for  his  use,  as  long  as  he 
requires  it,  a  steamer  for  the  Cameroons  river.  It  is 
being  built  on  the  Clyde,  is  45  feet  long,  1 1  foot  beam, 
draws  two  feet  of  water,  accommodation  for  six  men. 
I've  seen  the  plans.  She's  quite  a  nice  looking  paddle 
boat.  We  expect  to  start  for  a  three  months'  trip  up 
the  river  in  about  a  month  after  we  get  out.  The 
passage  is  known  to  be  clear  for  100  miles.  I  am 
taking  out  wheat  and  a  mill  to  grind  it.  Nearly  all 
food  has  to  come  from  Europe.  I  can't  help  feeling 
"a  bit  strange  like"  upon  the  eve  of  so  great  a 
change. 

'I  have  been  running  about  a  good  deal  lately. 
First  to  Essex,  then  to  London,  then  two  days  with 
Saker  at  Chatham,  then  a  day  in  London,  then  a 
week  in  Bristol,  now  home,  and  the  future  presents 
prospective  visits  to  Bristol,  London,  Liverpool,  and 
then ' 


The  Hero  of  his  Dpeams      39 

Later  still  he  speaks  with  warm  gratitude  of  the 
kindness  of  Mr.  Wathen,  of  Bristol,  and  the  friends  at 
Heneage  Street,  who  have  made  him  valuable  presents 
of  books  and  instruments  that  will  be  useful  to  him  in 
his  future  work. 

On  December  3  the  Designation  Service  was  held 
in  Broadmead  Chapel,  Bristol.  Alfred  Saker  was  the 
chief  speaker.  He  gave  a  vivid  account  of  the  sphere 
of  Grenfell's  future  work,  the  degradation  of  the  people, 
the  success  of  the  Mission,  and  the  demonstration 
it  afforded  of  the  capacity  of  a  degraded  people  to 
receive,  and  profit  by,  the  elevating  influences  of  the 
Gospel.  I  have  an  intense  remembrance  of  the  passion 
that  shook  him  as  he  spoke  of  the  former  abominations 
of  the  slave-trade,  and  answered  the  scorn  of  those  who 
regarded  the  negroes  as  hopelessly  brutal,  by  a  scathing 
sentence  to  this  effect :  '  You  have  treated  them  for 
generations  as  brutes,  and  now  complain  that  they  are 
less  than  men.'  It  was  prior  to  this  service  that  I 
shared  the  privilege  of  my  fellow  students  in  meeting 
Saker  in  the  College  Hall.  His  physique  was  frail 
beyond  telling,  almost  ghostly.  But  when  he  spoke  one 
realized  that  ev-ery  fibre  of  him  was  steel  surcharged 
with  magnetism.  As  he  discoursed  informally  to  a 
group  of  us,  beside  the  fire,  of  the  things  that  were 
most  upon  his  heart,  Grenfell  stood  near  him,  drinking 
in  every  word,  with  the  happy  absorption  of  a  man  who 
is  in  close  and  friendly  touch  with  the  hero  of  his 
dreams. 

On  the  evening  of  December  18  Grenfell  finds 
himself  in  Liverpool,  alone,  and  not  in  high  spirits. 
His  Liverpool  friends  will  not  take  too  seriously 
the  uncomplimentary  reference  to  their  noble  city. 
Conditions  must  be  considered.     His  harassing  business 


40  Colleg'e  Days 

is  done ;  his  farewells  have  been  said  ;  and  after  the 
manner  of  Englishmen  he  veils  his  heartache  by  a 
lightness  of  tone  that  deceives  nobody. 

The  following  letter,  dated  Liverpool,  December  i8, 
1874,  was  written  to  one  of  his  best-loved  College 
friends,  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Gwynne  Owen,  now  of 
Birmingham. 

'  Liverpool  is  the  dirtiest  hole  at  the  present  minute 
that  I  have  ever  had  the  misfortune  to  set  foot  in.  I've 
been  in  a  mess  before,  but  never  in  such  a  mess.  "  Over 
shoe-tops"  that's  nothing;  an  expression  altogether 
lacking  in  force  to  describe  the  quantity  of  mud,  slush, 
&c.  I've  to  go  to  Hugh  Stowell  Brown's  to  breakfast, 
and  however  the  "  boots "  will  get  my  boots  into  pre- 
sentation form,  and  however  the  united  efforts  of  the 
combined  staff  of  Laurence's  Hotel,  Clayton  Square,  of 
this  city,  will  ever  manage  to  disengage  the  tremendous 
aggregation  of  superfluous  matter  now  adhering  to  my 
"  bags,"  is  a  matter  I  fear  to  speculate  upon. 

'  I've  been  on  board  the  S.S.  "  Loanda " — I've  also 
heard  of  Babel,  and  if  Babel  was  half  as  badly  be- 
muddled  as  the  "  Loanda,"  I'm  not  surprised  they  were 
unable  to  report  progress,  and  eventually  gave  it  up  as  a 
bad  job. 

*  Pigs,  sheep,  turkeys,  geese,  ducks,  and  cocks  and 
hens  evidently  did  not  take  kindly  to  the  new  and  very 
close  quarters,  and  made  known  their  disapprobation  in 
an  unmistakable  manner.  I  sought  peace  below  deck, 
and  thought  to  find  it  in  the  saloon,  but  there  was  "  no 
peace."  It  shared  the  general  confusion,  and  I  can 
assure  you  the  packing-boxes  and  turmoil  did  not  at 
all  harmonize  with  the  gilding,  and  the  ease  which  the 
couches  suggested.  I  left  the  scene  and  sought  out  my 
Noah's  arks,  coffins,  etc.  (fourteen  in  all).     My  opinion 


Personal  Reminiscences       41 

is  that  Noah's  ark  was  not  half  as  much  knocked  about 
by  the  deluge,  or  Joseph's  coffin  in  transit  from  Egypt 
to  Canaan. 

'  I  stayed  a  couple  of  hours  with  Mills  on  Tuesday. 
He  is  grateful  for  one  of  your  characteristic  letters,  as  I 
shall  ever  be  upon  the  receipt  of  such. 

*  I'm  here  alone,  came  alone,  and  feel  lonely.  The 
grim  reality  (and  fever  is  only  one  of  the  grim  realities) 
is  opening  up.  I  expected  company  from  Birmingham. 
But  perhaps  'tis  better  as  it  is.  I'm  glad  I've  said 
"  Good-bye  "  all  round  ;  it's  a  hard  task  accomplished. 

*  And  now,  my  dear  old  fellow,  "  Good-bye  "  again 
to  you,  and  don't  forget  Yours  (prospectively  drinking 
of  Africa's  sunny  fountains),  GEORGE  Grenfell.' 

I  conclude  this  chapter  with  some  personal  reminis- 
cences taken  from  an  article  written  for  The  Baptist 
Tunes,  when  I  was  unaware  that  the  task  of  preparing 
Grenfell's  biography  would  be  assigned  to  me  : — 

'  Grenfell  and  I  were  in  the  same  year,  though  he 
was  very  considerably  my  senior.  I  looked  up  to  him 
with  a  great  deal  of  respect,  and  loved  him  right  away. 
Everybody  loved  him.  He  was  strong  as  a  lion,  gentle 
as  a  woman,  intensely  sympathetic,  and  absolutely 
devoted.  There  were  missionary  students  who  changed 
their  minds.  Grenfell's  mind  was  fixed.  Africa  was  in 
his  brain  and  upon  his  heart ;  and  in  our  little  prayer 
meetings  of  "  the  year  "  his  fervour  expressed  itself  in 
passionate  intercession.  He  was  extremely  modest  in 
his  estimate  of  his  own  powers,  and  the  brevity  of 
his  College  course  precluded  academic  distinction.  But 
those  who  passed  him  by  in  examinations  knew  that 
he  was  a  man  of  fine  mind  as  well  as  noble  character, 
and   were  not   surprised    by   the  magnificent   capacity 


42  Colleg-e  Days 

which  he  subsequently  displayed  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God. 

'  He  loved  a  joke,  and  could  suffer  one.  On  a  day 
we  watched  him,  with  unfeigned  interest,  pass  out  of  the 
College  door,  in  black  coat  and  white  tie,  with  his  service 
book  in  his  hand,  to  conduct  the  funeral  of  somebody 
who  wasn't  dead.  He  bore  the  affecting  ordeal  well, 
but  nobody  was  anxious  to  claim  the  honour  of  the 
successful  hoax. 

'The  College  session  commenced  in  September. 
Under  special  circumstances  I  entered  in  January,  and 
was,  consequently,  ignorant  of  some  things  well  known 
to  others.  One  night  Grenfell  inflicted  upon  me  a 
tremendous  scare.  It  was  late.  I  was  reading  in  bed. 
He,  half-undressed,  wishing  to  speak  with  me,  knocked 
at  my  door,  and  came  in,  without  his  spectacles,  and 
short  of  one  eye.  I  started  up  in  a  spasm  of  horror,  and 
when  he  understood  its  meaning  he  laughed  right 
heartily,  apologized,  explained  that  he  supposed  every- 
body in  the  house  knew  of  his  loss,  and  congratulated 
himself  upon  the  evidently  efificient  manner  in  which 
art  had  concealed  his  defect. 

'Writing  of  jokes,  there  was  another  memorable 
episode  in  which  he  was  a  principal  actor.  Our 
bedrooms  were  ventilated  by  square  apertures  in  the 
corners  of  the  ceilings  communicating  with  the  cavity  of 
the  roof.  One  day  Grenfell  and  a  fellow-student,  now  a 
minister  of  distinction,  who  shall  be  nameless,  got  up 
into  the  roof,  laid  ropes  along,  on  either  side,  above  the 
ventilators,  and  dropped  into  each  hole  a  pendent 
string  with  clangorous  scraps  of  tin  and  iron  attached. 
After  midnight  the  ropes  were  pulled,  and  there  was  a 
noise  that  might  have  waked  the  dead.  The  tintinna- 
bulation in  my  room  ceased  suddenly,  and  a  solid  chunk 


Athletic  Exercises  43 

of  iron  crashed  down  upon  my  trunk,  making  a  huge 
dent,  which  I  looked  at  curiously  a  few  weeks  ago.  If 
I  had  been  sitting  on  that  trunk  this  story  might  never 
have  been  written. 

'  In  a  few  moments  the  corridor  was  lined  with 
sheeted  and  indignant  ghosts,  a  curious  spectacle  in  the 
glimmering  candle-light.  When  the  legs  of  a  man 
appeared,  dangling  from  a  trap-door,  the  cry  was 
raised,  "Put  him  under  the  pump."  But  when  it  was 
discovered  that  the  legs  belonged  to  Grenfell,  the 
proposal  was  not  pushed. 

'As  I  have  already  remarked,  Grenfell  never  had  a 
thought  in  College  of  other  than  Missionary  work,  and 
was  always  directly  preparing  for  the  career  to  which  he 
had  consecrated  his  life.  The  geographical  instinct  was 
strong  in  him,  and  I  often  saw  him  poring  over  maps 
and  dreaming  of  the  mysteries  of  the  dark  land  whither 
he  was  going,  with  its  unknown  multitudes  of  men  and 
women  for  whom  Christ  died. 

*  He  was  a  man  of  no  common  brain  power,  but  he 
was  also  a  man  of  his  hands.  His  bookcases,  constructed 
by  himself,  were  made  to  shut  up  as  trunks,  so  that  his 
books  might  be  transported  without  being  disarranged. 
He  excelled  in  athletic  exercises,  and  I  recall  a  living 
picture  of  him,  at  this  moment,  hanging  by  his  hands 
from  a  horizontal  ladder,  and  making  his  way  along 
with  tremendous  reaches,  which  none  of  his  fellow- 
students  could  rival. 

'  It  is  well  known  that  he  was  a  good  shot,  and 
"death"  on  crocodiles  and  other  evil  beasts.  I  hope 
the  confession  will  involve  no  retrospective  penalties, 
when  I  own  to  having  practised  revolver  shooting 
with  him,  on  one  afternoon  at  least,  within  the  quiet 
precincts  of  the  College. 


44  Colleg'e  Days 

'  When  the  day  came  for  Grenfell's  departure,  all  too 
soon  for  us,  the  house  was  strangely  moved.  Some  of 
us  were  standing  in  a  little  crowd  in  the  dining-room 
when  he  came  to  say  "good-bye."  His  manner  was 
quick  and  intense  as  always.  But  as  man  after  man 
shook  hands  with  him,  and  said  the  word  that  came  to 
his  lips,  each  turned  away  to  look  at  a  picture  or  out  of 
window.  He  didn't  wish  the  other  fellows  to  see  that 
his  eyes  were  full  of  tears. 

'  Thirty  years  have  passed  since  then,  and  it  is  now  a 
matter  of  regret  to  me  that  I  saw  him  so  infrequently  in 
the  long  interval.  But  when  we  did  meet,  it  was  upon 
the  old  College  terms.  I  specially  remember  one  inter- 
view during  which  we  walked,  with  linked  arms,  up  and 
down  a  London  road,  talking  of  his  experiences  and 
ambitions.  His  great  idea  was  to  throw  a  line  of 
stations  across  the  continent,  and  link  up  with  brethren 
who  were  working  in  from  the  east.  I  asked  him  why 
he  was  so  keen  upon  this  extended  line  rather  than 
upon  consolidation  nearer  the  base,  and  among  other 
things  he  said  that  he  desired  the  tradition  of  "  God's 
white  man  "  to  get  the  start  of  the  evil  tradition  of  the 
trader. 

*  At  that  time  he  had  been  recently  decorated  by  the 
King  of  the  Belgians,  and  had  worn  his  decoration  at 
some  great  function.  I  asked  him  pleasantly  how  he 
felt,  and  his  reply  was,  "  I  felt  like  a  barn-door  with  a 
brass  knocker." ' 


CHAPTER    III 
AT  THE  CAMEROONS 

Alfred  Saker — At  Fernando  Po— Removes  to  the  Mainland— Grenfell 
and  Saker — Arrival  at  Cameroons — Early  Impressions — Methods 
employed  in  the  Work — Some  Early  Notes — A  School  Treat — 
Grenfell  as  a  Doctor — A  Vaccination  Patient — Announcing  a 
Death — A  Perilous  Custom— Marriage  Customs — Seizure  for 
Debt  — Female  Hardships  —  Grenfell  and  his  Pupils  — The 
Story  of  Ewangi— A  Grateful  Patient— A  Tragedy  and  its 
Sequel — An  Up-river  Journey— Preaching  by  the  Way- 
Exploring  Water-ways— Feminine  Curiosity— Things  seen  on 
the  Journey — Happiness  in  the  Work— Visits  the  Abo  Towns— 
'  Ebo '  Houses— Return  Journey—'  Afric's  Sunny  Fountains  '— 
Impressions  of  the  Abo  People— The  Country  and  its  Products- 
Visit  to  Bethel— Domestic  Woes— Life  from  Day  to  Day. 

ALFRED  SAKER,  like  William  Carey,  was  a  man 
obviously  called  and  equipped  of  God  for  a  great 
mission.  Like  Carey,  he  was  of  lowly  origin  and  subject 
to  grave  disadvantage  in  the  matter  of  early  education. 
He  was  born  at  Borough  Green,  in  the  parish  of 
Wrotham,  Kent,  in  1 8 14.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  had 
passed  through  the  village  school  and  entered  the 
workshop  of  his  father,  who  was  a  wheelwright.  He 
exhibited  great  mechanical  aptitude  and  was  devoted 
to  study,  taking  special  interest  in  geography  and 
astronomy.  About  1830,  during  a  stay  at  Sevenoaks, 
he  was  drawn  into  the  Baptist  Chapel,  one  Sunday 
evening,  by  the  singing,  and  there  and  then  became 
the  subject  of  a  spiritual  experience,  which  evangelical 
Christians   call   conversion,    and    for    which    the    most 


46  At  the  Cameroons 

sceptical  man  of  Science  would  be  constrained  to  find 
some  respectful  designation,  having  regard  to  Saker's 
subsequent  career.  From  the  first  his  Christianity  was 
of  the  aggressive,  evangelistic  order,  and  he  taught 
and  preached  as  opportunity  permitted.  Subsequently, 
having  married  a  lady  like-minded,  he  removed  to 
Devonport,  and  secured  a  good  position  in  the 
Government  Dockyard. 

The  Baptist  African  Mission  was  commenced  by 
men  who  had  been  carried  as  slaves  to  Jamaica,  who 
had  found  Christ  in  their  servitude,  and  who,  when 
slavery  was  abolished  by  the  British  Government,  felt 
their  hearts  yearning  toward  their  heathen  brethren  in 
the  homeland.  Their  first  efforts  were  crude  and  ill- 
supported.  In  1840,  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society 
took  up  the  languishing  work.  The  Rev.  John  Clarke, 
a  missionary  in  Jamaica,  and  Dr.  Prince,  a  medical  man, 
were  sent  to  West  Africa,  and  settled  on  the  Island  of 
Fernando  Po.  The  story  told  by  these  two  consecrated 
men,  during  a  visit  to  England,  secured  the  enthusiastic 
interest  of  Alfred  Saker  and  his  wife.  They  offered 
themselves  to  the  Mission,  were  accepted,  and  sailed  for 
Fernando  Po,  vid  Jamaica,  arriving  at  their  destination 
early  in  1844. 

Then  began  a  series  of  labours  hardly  surpassed  in 
Missionary  annals,  as  regards  their  severity  and  their 
success.  Saker's  desires  had  early  turned  toward  the 
mainland,  and  in  1845  he  settled  in  King  Akwa's  town, 
on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Cameroons  river,  some 
twenty  miles  from  the  sea-coast.  Here,  amidst  appalling 
degradation  and  rampant  cruelty,  this  master-builder 
laid  the  foundations  of  a  Christian  civilization.  He 
made  bricks,  built  houses,  reduced  the  language  to 
writing,  established  printing  presses,  compiled  grammars 


Veteran  and  Young'  Recruit  47 

and  dictionaries,  translated  the  Scriptures  into  the  Dualla 
tongue,  endured  persecution,  won  confidence,  made  con- 
verts, and,  supported  by  faithful  colleagues,  achieved 
once  more  the  miracles  of  regeneration  and  uplifting, 
possible  only  to  men  who  are  the  organs  of  the  Spirit  of 
Christ. 

The  story  of  the  Spanish  oppression  in  Fernando  Po, 
and  the  founding  of  the  Colony  of  Victoria,  cannot  be 
told  here.  But  in  this  grave  and  difficult  business  Saker 
exhibited  practical  and  administrative  genius  of  a  high 
order.  In  the  sixties  his  work  had  secured  the  attention 
and  admiration  of  the  Christian  Church  throughout  the 
world,  and  among  his  most  ardent  admirers  was  George 
Grenfell,  who  accompanied  him  upon  his  last  voyage  to 
Africa,  and  was  destined  to  feel  the  weight  of  his  burden 
for  a  little  while  in  the  Cameroons,  and  then  to  take  up 
like  burdens  in  other,  wider  fields. 

Upon  their  arrival  at  Cameroons  in  January,  1875, 
Saker  and  Grenfell,  the  veteran  and  the  young  recruit, 
were  most  cordially  received,  and  the  prevailing  use  of 
the  English  language  enabled  Grenfell  to  commence 
educational  work  among  the  young  men  without  delay. 

On  February  2,  Grenfell  writes  to  his  friend  Mr. 
Lewis — 

'  The  place  here  is  charming,  beyond  all  praise ;  the 
house  is  magnificently  situated  upon  a  little  cliff  forty- 
three  feet  high,  and  commands  splendid  views  of  the 
river.  The  heat  does  not  trouble  me,  it  certainly  is 
warm,  but  as  I  dress  especially  for  the  weather  I  meet 
the  changes  of  temperature  upon  the  best  terms.  There 
are  lots  of  insects,  but  they  are  not  troublesome — don't 
bite.  I've  seen  but  one  mosquito,  and  he  was  in  the 
act  of  committing  suicide  in  the  butter  dish.  [He  saw 
others  later,  by  no  means  tired  of  life.] 


48  At  the  Camepoons 

'  I  am  getting  a  bit  straight  in  my  new  home.  We 
had  lots  to  do,  the  house  is  a  very  large  one,  and  being 
left  in  charge  mainly  of  cockroaches  and  ants  required 
some  amount  of  attention. 

'The  Chapel,  Schools,  Workshops,  etc.,  are  all  in  the 
same  plot  of  ground  as  the  house,  and  cover  quite  an 
extensive  area. 

'The  people,  men  and  women,  boast  only,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  a  loin  cloth  in  the  way  of  raiment. 
The  Christian  women  generally  don  a  loose  flowing 
robe  after  the  pattern  of  a  baptizing  gown,  the  men  don 
a  shirt,  which  together  with  loin  cloth  constitutes  full 
dress.    Some,  however,  have  risen  to  the  dignity  of  pants. 

*  Polygamy  and  domestic  slavery  obtain  very  ex- 
tensively. The  Pastor  of  our  church  here  is  a  slave  and 
pays  part  of  his  salary  to  his  master,  but  he  might  be 
sold  to-morrow  if  his  master  liked.  He  is  a  very  good 
man,  not  highly  educated  in  the  matter  of  letters,  but 
in  Christian  teaching  well  learned — no  cant  or  humbug 
that  sometimes  characterizes  the  negro  Christian,  but  a 
downright  honest,  straightforward  man.  This  is  Mr. 
Saker's  opinion,  endorsed  by  my  eight  days'  intercourse 
with  the  said  individual. 

*  The  voyage  was  a  very  pleasant  one  ;  the  opening 
part  of  it  was  rather  squally,  but  after  we  left  Madeira 
it  was  very  fine  weather.  At  Sierra  Leone  I  went 
ashore  (as  well  as  at  Madeira  and  Teneriffe),  but  I  either 
ate  too  many  oranges  or  got  slight  fever  or  something 
which  eventually  led  to  inflammation  of  the  stomach. 
It  compelled  me  to  resort  to  a  slop  diet  for  awhile  ; 
however,  before  we  got  to  Bonny  I  was  quite  right  again. 

'  My  chemicals  arrived  in  splendid  condition,  nothing 
broken  or  spilled. 

*  My  work  here  will  be  a  very  slow  one,  education 


Getting*  an  Education         49 

chiefly.  Teaching  has  to  be  administered  in  very  small 
doses.  The  way  Mr.  Saker  has  got  along  has  been  to 
take  boys  under  his  charge,  educate,  and  teach  them 
trades  ;  Mrs.  Saker  has  taken  the  girls  under  her  charge 
and  educated  and  taught  them  the  essentials  of  civilized 
life.  The  young  men  have  done  the  work  of  carpenters, 
bricklayers,  boat-rowers,  etc.,  and  thus  worked  for  their 
living  which  Mr.  Saker  has  provided  for  them,  as  well  as 
a  house  isolated  from  the  town  and  its  bad  influence  ; 
the  young  women  have  done  the  domestic  work,  sewingi 
etc.,  earning  their  board  and  lodging  and  getting  an 
education.  From  the  ranks  of  the  young  we  have 
teachers  for  our  children's  schools  which  are  open  to  all, 
free,  and  from  the  young  women  the  young  men  have 
been  furnished  with  wives.  We  have  been  here  only  a 
few  days,  have  received  lots  of  applications  for  boys 
and  girls  brought  by  their  parents  to  come  and  live  and 
learn.  The  girls'  school  is  at  a  standstill,  and  will  be 
till  Polly  comes  out.  The  boys'  and  young  men's 
education  is  being  attended  to,  however. 

'My  cook,  a  youth  of  about  1 6  or  17,  works  for  a 
slight  fee  in  goods  equal  to  about  4^.  a  day,  his 
food  (rice  chiefly),  and  an  hour  and  a  half's  instruction 
with  the  young  men.  My  house  boy  for  the  advantage 
of  two  hours'  schooling  and  his  food  (clothing  very 
scanty)  fetches  and  carries  all  I  need.  The  Mission  is 
so  organized  that  everything  goes  on  as  usual  in  the 
Missionary's  absence,  Native  pastor  and  teachers 
officiating  in  everything  except  the  Young  Men's  School 
for  an  hour  and  a  half  a  day.  And  when  the  Missionary 
goes  away  the  chief  of  the  young  men  go  with  him  to 
see  to  boat,  etc.  But  when  the  Missionary  is  here  he 
takes  the  general  oversight  and  preaches  and  teaches  as 
opportunities  offer,  which  is  every  day.' 


E 


50  At  the  Camepoons 

Among  Grenfell's  *  literary  remains '  is  a  little  sheaf 
of  note-paper,  brown,  weather-worn,  closely  inscribed, 
almost  indecipherable  in  places,  containing  notes  of 
early  impressions  of  the  Cameroons,  accounts  of  two 
important  Missionary  journeys,  and  a  diary  of  following 
experiences.  It  is  a  roughly  executed  record,  apparently 
designed  to  be  the  basis  of  a  book  which  was  never 
written.  I  proceed  to  give  the  gist  of  this  most 
interesting  document,  with  one  or  two  interpolations. 

'Three  or  four  days  after  my  arrival  at  Bethel 
Station  I  witnessed  a  scene  I  shall  not  soon  forget — a 
school  treat  given  to  black  children.  The  incident  was 
memorable  not  on  account  of  its  being  a  treat  given  to 
black  children,  but  because  of  the  elements  of  the  treat, 
boiled  rice  and  salt  beef,  and  the  treatment  the  treat 
received.  It  was  not  a  big  afifair.  There  were  not  many 
more  than  fifty  children  present,  and  these,  instead  of 
bringing  cups,  brought  a  collection  of  plates,  and  sub- 
stitutes for  plates,  such  as  I  never  conceived  could  have 
been  raked  up  by  so  small  a  company.  There  was  the 
orthodox  plate,  from  ten  inches  in  diameter  downwards. 
There  were  vegetable  dishes,  pie  dishes,  meat  dishes 
tureens  and  tureen  covers,  serving  as  very  good  sub- 
stitutes for  plates.  There  were  also  a  collection  of 
calabashes — cotton-wood  bowls,  eighteen  inches  across, 
after  the  fashion  of  mincing  bowls — enamelled  and  tinned 
iron  bowls,  and  one  wash-hand  basin. 

'  Spoons  were  provided,  but  were  soon  discarded 
after  operations  had  commenced ;  the  majority,  like 
David  with  Saul's  armour,  had  not  proved  them.  They 
had  had  more  practice  with  their  fingers  than  with 
spoons,  and  managed,  by  a  movement  which  I  cannot 
imitate,  to  convert  their  hands  into  a  sort  of  funnel 
through  which  the  rice,  after  they  had  taken  it  up  and 


Demolishing'  the  Viands       51 

thrown  back  their  heads,  ran  into  their  mouths.  Some 
sat  on  the  benches,  some  on  the  sandy  floor.  The 
earnestness  with  which  they  set  themselves  to  the  task 
of  demoHshing  the  viands,  and  afterwards  picking  the 
bones,  was  evidenced  by  the  speed  with  which  the  feat 
was  accomplished.  1  have  little  doubt  that  the  majority 
had  never  tasted  beef  before.  Cups  and  water  were 
provided,'  and  the  observer  goes  on  to  tell  of  how  the 
girls  would  have  spoiled  their  garments  if  they  had  been 
clad  English  fashion,  by  *  the  reckless  manner '  of  their 
drinking.  But  as  they  wore  no  dress  beyond  '  a  waist 
cloth,  an  ivory  or  brass  armlet,  and  a  necklet  of  beads,' 
it  did  not  matter.  One  boy's  hybrid  costume  consisted 
of  a  girl's  sand  shoes  and  jacket,  and  a  round  black  felt 
hat.  A  distribution  of  sweetmeats  and  toys  and  dolls 
followed  the  feast  (only  white  dolls  are  acceptable). 
'Their  curtseying  for  these  gifts  was  performed  in  all 
sorts  of  extraordinary  fashions.  After  this  they  sang  a 
hymn  and  dispersed,  carrying  away  on  their  heads  their 
plates,  dishes,  bowls,  etc.  Everything  is  carried  on  the 
head,  from  a  pail  of  water  to  the  books  that  are  taken 
to  Chapel.' 

A  few  days  later  Grenfell  found  time  for  a  walk  with 
one  of  the  Mission  people,  that  he  might  discover  the 
kind  of  town  in  which  he  had  settled.  He  noticed 
about  half  a  dozen  brick  houses,  the  property  of  Mission 
people  who  had  been  taught  to  make  their  own  bricks. 
The  native  houses  were  mainly  built  of  split  bamboo 
and  palm-leaf  mats,  raised  on  platforms  two  feet  high. 
Chiefs  sometimes  boasted  houses  built  of  boards  and 
raised  on  poles  some  six  feet  from  the  ground  ;  but 
their  numerous  wives  occupied  native-built  houses 
adjacent ;  and  though  each  wife  had  her  own  house, 
this    arrangement    often    failed   to   prevent    vociferous 


52  At  the  Cameroons 

quarrelling.  A  chief  may  have  a  street  to  himself.  '  One 
of  our  big  men  has  dubbed  his  street  Queen  Street. 
His  house  door  bears  the  legend — 

Bonney  Eyo  Esquire 

Pocket  Brother 

Queen  St.     Akwa  Town 

Capital  of  Cameroons. 

"  Pocket  Brother "  means  that  Bonney  Eyo  Esquire's 
brother  *'  Pocket "  lives  there  too.' 

Grotesque  names  are  borne  by  many  of  the  people, 
such  as  Pannakin,  Brass  Pan,  Liverpool  Joss,  London 
Bell,  Talkaway.  And  dignitaries  have  their  names 
inscribed  upon  their  ivory  armlets,  thus  indicating  rank, 
which,  in  the  absence  of  other  garments  than  the  waist- 
cloth,  might  be  unsuspected.  *  The  women,  like  the 
men,  are  fond  of  ornaments,  and  wear  armlets,  necklets, 
and  earrings.  They  have  no  place  for  brooches,  but 
make  up  for  that  by  wearing  rings  on  their  toes. 
Though  I  remember  seeing  one  who  was  not  to  be 
balked  in  the  matter  of  brooches ;  she  found  accom- 
modation for  about  two  dozen  upon  her  head,  almost 
covering  her  wool,  a  capital  medium  for  the  pins.' 

Before  Grenfell  had  been  long  in  Cameroons  it 
became  known  that  he  had  brought  medicines  with 
him,  and  forthwith,  as  physician,  he  was  in  great  request. 
Some  cases  exceeded  his  skill,  and  some  were  beneath 
it.  Even  as  he  wrote  he  was  called  to  see  a  man  who 
was  too  ill  to  leave  the  canoe  in  which  he  had  been 
brought  down  river.  It  was  a  case  of  lock-jaw.  But 
in  many  instances  the  amateur  physician  was  sure  that 
nothing  ailed  his  patients  more  serious  than  a  morbid 
craving  for  physic,  which  he  satisfied  with  harmless  pills. 
In  earliest  days  he  used  to  mix  children's  powders  with 


Warning'  the  Spirit  World    53 

sugar ;  but  so  many  were  taken,  and  did  *  so  much  good,' 
according  to  the  parents'  version,  that  he  shrewdly  sus- 
pected them  of  consuming  the  sweet  morsels  designed 
for  their  suffering  children. 

Quaint  and  pitiful  is  the  following  recital :  *  One  day 
a  man  came  to  me  asking  to  be  vaccinated.  Having  no 
lymph  I  was  unable  to  meet  his  wish.  He  was  greatly 
grieved,  and  went  away  looking  very  doleful.  Shortly 
after  he  returned  and  said  :  "  Can't  you  cut  me,  so  that 
when  I  go  home  I  may  show  the  mark,  and  the  people 
may  not  witch  me."  His  home  was  Malimba,  thirty  or 
forty  miles  away,  and  the  Malimba  people  are  very 
much  afraid  of  small-pox  coming  from  the  river.  .  .  . 
Country  medicines  for  internal  complaints  are  worse 
than  useless,  and  kill  the  majority  of  those  who  have 
much  to  do  with  them.' 

When  death  occurs,  guns  are  fired  to  announce  to  the 
spirits  that  another  is  on  the  way  to  join  them.  This 
firing  used  to  continue  throughout  the  day,  but  is  now 
observed  only  at  the  time  of  death,  and  again  at 
sundown.  '  A  few  charges  from  a  cannon,  and  half 
an  hour's  small  gun  practice,  is  all  the  warning  the  spirit 
world  gets  nowadays.' 

Under  this  modified  regime  the  noise,  especially  of 
the  cannon,  is  sufficiently  distressing  to  European  ears. 
The  cannon  firing  is  curious.  The  unmounted  gun  is 
laid  on  the  ground,  and  discharged  by  means  of  a  long 
train  of  powder,  extending  from  the  capacious  touch-hole 
to  the  margin  of  a  pit  in  which  the  gunner  lies  ensconced, 
safe  from  mischances.  Mischances  are  not  rare.  'During 
the  late  war  a  cannon,  pointed  at  the  Mission  House, 
burst,  and  sent  the  fore  part  of  the  gun  through  the  roof 
of  one  of  the  trading  houses,  situated  at  right  angles  to 
the  line  of  fire.' 


54  At  the  Camepoons 

*  In  addition  to  the  noise  made  by  the  guns  upon  the 
occasion  of  death,  there  is  also  the  din  of  musical  instru- 
ments to  be  endured.  I  can  hear  them  now,  and  the 
wailing  of  the  women,  and  the  cries — 

'  O  spirit,  come  back  and  I  won't  vex  you  again, 
O  Brother,  come  back,  yes,  that's  what  we  want, 
The  unsettled  palaver  we  won't  mention  again 
Only  come  back,  only  come  back. 

Oh  !  Oh  !  Oh  ! ' 

If  a  man  dies  in  the  morning,  he  is  buried  before 
night,  usually  under  his  own  roof,  and  possibly  in  an 
elaborately  ornamented  coffin,  imported  from  England, 
which  he  has  long  used  as  a  treasure  box.  His  personal 
belongings,  such  as  his  stool,  his  calabash,  his  waist- 
cloth,  and  drinking-cup,  are  first  broken,  that  they  may 
not  tempt  a  thief,  and  then  stacked  under  a  rude  shelter 
opposite  his  house.  This  wasteful  custom  is  simply 
defended  as  the  '  country  fashion,'  and  prevails  far  down 
the  coast.  Formerly  when  a  great  man  died  some  of 
his  people  were  killed  that  he  might  have  attendants  in 
the  next  world.  More  recently  the  custom  has  been 
to  raid  a  weaker  tribe,  and  secure  prisoners  for  sacrifice. 
*  But  this  is  fast  giving  place.  ...  If  a  man  dies  from 
small-pox,  no  gun-firing  or  ostentatious  weeping  takes 
place.  "  The  eyes  of  those  who  weep  for  him  will  burst," 
the  people  say.' 

'  The  tender  passion  '  is  little  understood.  Wives 
are  bought,  and  the  girls  of  a  family  are  sold  to  buy 
wives  for  the  boys.  The  boy  without  a  sister  is  matri- 
monially in  evil  case,  and  has  to  take  inferior  chances. 
The  wife-purchase  business  involves  frequent  trouble. 
One  of  Grenfell's  neighbours,  John  Akvva,  paid  for  a 
wife  from  Fiko  town.  She  was  not  forthcoming,  where- 
upon, seeing  her  brother,  he  captured  him,  brought  him 


A  eupious  Cipculap  Net       55 

home,  and  held  him  a  prisoner  in  chains.  '  This  practice 
of  seizing  a  man  or  a  canoe  for  debt  of  any  kind  is  very 
common,  and  indeed  is  the  recognized  law  by  which 
a  man  recoups  himself  or  brings  about  a  settlement. 
When  a  man  is  caught  and  killed,  there  is  retaliation 
at  the  first  opportunity,  and  re-retaliation  when  a  chance 
occurs,  and  so  on.  Often  many  lives  are  sacrificed  by 
this  stupid  plan,  and  sometimes  a  war  results.' 

The  women  are  very  hardly  worked.  They  cultivate 
the  farms.  Grenfell  saw  one,  whom  he  knew,  digging 
holes,  for  planting  yams,  with  a  heavy  iron  crow-bar,  and 
was  indignant  ;  this  woman's  husband  was  a  ship's 
carpenter  and  earned  good  wages.  But  it  is  the 
'  country  fashion.'     The  crops  are  protected  by  charms. 

'Some  of  the  men,  when  trade  is  bad,  go  fishing 
both  with  hooks  and  nets.  Some  nets  are  imported 
from  England,  but  only  a  few.  Most  of  them  are  made 
of  native  fibre  twine.  Other  nets  consist  of  split  bamboo 
laths,  six  feet  long,  half  an  inch  wide,  one-eighth  in 
thickness,  and  laced  across.  There  is  also  a  very 
curious  circular  net  in  use  here  ;  and  when  a  shoal 
of  fish  is  observed,  this  is  so  thrown  from  the  land, 
that  ere  it  reaches  the  water  it  has  spread  out  to  its 
full  capacity,  a  disc  of  some  twelve  or  more  feet  in 
diameter,  and  being  weighted  at  the  edges  with  lead, 
rapidly  sinks  at  the  circumference  and  so  encloses  the 
fish.    The  net  is  drawn  in  by  a  rope  fixed  to  the  centre. 

'  In  fishing  excursions  up  or  down  the  river  use  is 
made  of  the  tide,  which  rises  about  six  or  eight  feet 
above  low-water  mark,  thus  causing  a  very  considerable 
current.  The  winds  too  are  very  regular,  and  are 
depended  upon  with  almost  as  much  certainty  as  the 
tides.  The  land  breeze  springs  up  at  midnight  or  early 
morning,  and  blows  for  awhile  with  considerable  force  ; 


56  At  the  Camepoons 

but  by  daybreak  it  is  generally  quite  calm.  At  eight 
or  nine  o'clock  shifting  breezes  spring  up,  of  no  great 
consequence.  But,  as  soon  as  noon  is  passed,  the  sea- 
breeze  is  looked  for,  and,  unless  there  has  been  a  tornado 
or  other  rare  disturbing  cause,  always  comes,  and  gener- 
ally blows  with  sufficient  force  to  tip  the  wave,  which 
I've  had  great  difficulty  in  heading,  in  a  four-oared  boat 
at  times.  I've  found  these  sea-breezes  very  refreshing 
during  my  attacks  of  fever.' 

On  commencing  his  school  Grenfell  was  distressed 
by  the  dulness  and  laziness  of  some  of  his  pupils,  but 
the  efficiency  and  versatility  of  one  of  them  gave  him 
no  small  comfort. 

*  My  boy  Dumbi,  about  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of 
age,  promises  to  be  a  good  lad.  He  is  clever  and 
industrious,  and  about  the  only  genius  I  know  in  the 
country.  He  is  now  engaged  in  making  himself  a 
Scotch  cap,  having  already  made  a  shirt.  He  is  a 
successful  fisherman,  owns  a  canoe,  and  twists  his  own 
fishing  lines,  which  he  prefers  to  the  English  silk  lines, 
so  popular  at  home.  He  can  climb  a  tree  like  a  cat, 
and  go  up  a  bamboo  cane  as  a  sailor  goes  up  a  rope.  If 
he  sees  a  thing  done  once,  he  can  do  it  himself,  and  has 
often  helped  my  cook  with  dishes  he  could  not  manage. 

'  Dumbi  swims  like  a  fish  ;  knows  all  the  river  creeks 
and  steering  courses ;  was  taken  prisoner  among  a 
canoe's  crew  during  the  late  war,  and  escaped  by  taking 
a  header  and  long  dive  (it  was  night)  and  coming  up  out 
of  sight.  He  is  very  handy  with  carpenters'  tools,  and 
used,  when  he  had  time,  to  make  model  canoes,  which 
he  sold  to  the  steamer  passengers.  He  has  a  good  head, 
forgets  nothing  he  is  told,  and  has  the  bump  of  order 
well  developed.  You  white  people  would  be  blessed  if 
you  could  get  a  cargo  of  such  servants.     I  thought  when 


'You  do  Him  well!'  57 

I  first  saw  him,  "  That's  the  ugliest  boy  I  have  seen." 
I  believe  he  is  better  looking  now.  Anyway  I  would 
not  part  with  him,  looks  or  no  looks,  without  a  struggle. 
Every  Saturday  afternoon  he  comes  to  me  and  says, 
"  I  want  to  go  look  my  mower."  He  wants  to  go  and 
see  his  mother.  He's  a  good  lad  :  tarred  the  bottom  of 
my  boat  as  far  as  the  water-line  yesterday.' 

The  account  of  the  first  journey,  commenced  on 
May  3,  is  prefaced  by  the  tragical  story  of  Ewangi. 

About  three  months  earlier  this  man  came  down 
river  in  a  canoe  and  requested  Grenfell  to  pull  a 
sphnter  out  of  his  foot.  As  the  splinter  was  nearly 
three  inches  long  and  broken,  the  operation  was  not  as 
simple  as  it  might  have  been.  One-half  was  easily 
extracted,  but  the  deeper-seated  portion  required  an 
incision.  The  patient's  leg  was  tied  to  a  school  bench, 
and  his  shout  when  he  felt  the  knife  was  sufficiently 
disconcerting.  The  excitement  of  the  operation  was 
accentuated  by  the  subsidence  of  the  floor  at  the  moment 
of  its  completion.  Fortunately  Grenfell's  foot  was 
resting  on  a  beam,  and  by  a  dexterous  movement  he 
contrived  to  save  himself  from  what  might  have  been  a 
serious  accident. 

The  second  scene  is  laid  in  Dido's  town,  three  miles 
up  the  river.  There,  on  May  i,  Grenfell  was  surprised 
by  the  affectionate  demonstrations  of  a  man  who  shook 
him  by  the  hand  with  enthusiasm,  crying,  '  You  do  him 
good,  you  do  him  well ! '  In  answer  to  Grenfell's  puzzled 
look  he  pointed  to  his  foot,  and  was  then  recognized  as 
the  man  whose  leg  had  been  tied  to  the  school  bench. 
After  talk  of  the  splinter,  at  parting,  the  surgeon 
remarked  to  his  former  patient  in  Dualla  English,  '  Ah, 
you'll  carry  them  mark  till  you  done  die,'  little  thinking 
how  short  a  time  that  would  be.     For  the  same  evenino- 


*t3» 


5S  At  the  Cameroons 

on  an  up-river  voyage,  Ewangi  was  snatched  from  his 
canoe  by  a  crocodile,  and  seen  no  more.  Word  of  the 
tragedy  was  brought  to  Dido's  town.  War  canoes  were 
dispatched.  One  of  the  men  who  were  with  Ewangi  in 
the  canoe  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  the  man  off 
whose  beach  the  crocodile  lay,  were  arrested,  charged 
with  witchcraft  and  doomed  to  death.  The  latter,  a 
Wuri  man,  was  duly  killed.  The  former,  a  Dido  man, 
having  influential  friends,  was  spared.  Whereupon 
Wuri  men,  accounting  themselves  aggrieved,  came  down 
in  war  canoes,  demanding,  not  reparation  for  their 
countryman's  execution,  but  the  death  of  the  Dido  man  ; 
and  threatening  that  if  their  demand  was  not  complied 
with  they  would  stop  all  trade.  *It  no  fit  that  Wuri 
man  die  and  Dido  man  not  die,'  was  the  argument  as 
Grenfell  heard  it. 

This  unfortunate  Ewangi  was  a  bard,  whose  business 
it  was  to  sing  inspiriting  songs,  composed  as  he  went 
along,  to  cheer  the  hearts  of  the  paddlers  in  canoes,  and 
to  keep  their  strokes  in  time.  He  was  distinguished  in 
his  profession,  and  made  the  *  best  play '  of  all  the  bards. 
'  To  see  a  hundred  or  so  paddles,  all  wet  and  glistening 
in  the  sun  as  they  are  simultaneously  swung  in  circles 
at  each  stroke,  is  a  sight  to  remember.  If  Ewangi  was 
"play"  man,  the  crews  always  "pulled  true"  {i.e.  worked 
hard),  and  their  hearts  never  failed  them.  Ewangi  was 
a  grateful  savage :  grateful  savages  are  rare.  Poor 
Ewangi ! ' 

*  On  the  night  of  Monday  May  the  3rd  I  started  on  a 
journey  up  the  river,  as  far  as  I  could  get,  and  yet  be 
back  in  time  to  prepare  for  Sunday.  We  passed  the 
scene  of  Ewangi's  death  in  the  dark,  or  rather  in  the 
darkness  illumined  by  one  candle,  which  I  found  when 
I  awoke  in  the  morning  had  been  kept  alight  all  the 


One  vast  Lag'oon  59 

way,  whether  to  scare  the  crocodile,  or  to  see  him 
coming  I  could  not  determine.  My  crew  seemed  to 
have  no  clearly  defined  notion  about  it.  But  evidently 
security  and  light  were  linked  in  some  fashion  according 
to  their  ideas.  By  the  time  the  sun  was  up  we  were 
in  regions  that  are  one  vast  lagoon  in  the  rainy  season, 
though  in  the  dry  season  the  banks  of  the  river  are 
clearly  defined.  All  the  houses  are  built  on  raised 
earth  platforms  as  in  Akwa  town,  but  very  much  higher, 
say  from  four  to  six  feet,  nearly  the  same  height  as  the 
house  itself.  The  doorway,  which  is  the  only  aperture, 
is  approached  by  a  notched  log.  In  consequence  of  the 
periodical  floods,  and  the  great  number  of  waterways, 
every  house  has  its  canoe  or  canoes,  and  in  the  mornings 
you  may  see  the  women  going  to  their  farms,  up  or 
down  the  river,  as  the  case  may  be.  Canoes  in  every 
state  of  dilapidation  seem  to  be  available.  I  saw  one 
sink  ;  but  the  woman  seemed  quite  used  to  such 
mischance,  rose  like  a  cork  to  the  emergency,  raised  and 
baled  the  canoe,  and  departed  on  her  journey.' 

While  his  crew  were  ashore  cooking  breakfast, 
Grenfell  followed  a  great  precedent,  by  sitting  in  his 
boat  and  speaking  to  the  people  on  the  shore.  The 
appearance  of  the  white  man  caused  great  commotion 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  near  to  which  they  made  their 
course.  Shouts  of  '  Mutu  Mokala '  preceded  them, 
crowds  gathered,  and  the  women  and  children,  most  of 
whom  had  never  seen  a  white  man  before,  were  not  a 
little  scared.  Grenfell  surmises  that  he  must  have 
seemed  '  a  bogey  dad  in  terrors '  to  the  children,  who 
'  ran  away  and  screamed  in  the  most  frantic  manner, 
falling  over  one  another  pell-mell.'  At  noon  they 
reached  the  place  of  N'Toe,  Chief  of  Wuri.  While 
sitting  in  his  house  the  white  man  happened  to  turn 


6o  At  the  Camepoons 

round  suddenly.  The  children,  who  were  inside,  and  at 
the  door,  bolted,  and  there  ensued  a  heap,  the  bottom 
child  being  badly  bruised. 

The  night,  passed  in  N' Toe's  town,  gave  the  traveller 
his  first  experience  of  sleeping  in  a  native  house.  He 
did  not  like  it.  On  the  morrow  the  journey  was 
continued  to  a  point  where  four  waterways  met.  The 
reluctance  of  the  crew  to  proceed  further  was  overruled, 
for  Grenfell  was  determined  to  find  out  more  of  these 
waterways  than  his  men's  vague  statements  conveyed. 
Resolved  to  take  them  seriatim,  he  started  up  the  first 
way  to  westward.  Canoes  were  now  following,  and  he 
soon  learned  that  their  occupants  were  inspired  by  the 
hope  that  he  would  shoot  a  hippopotamus,  and  so 
supply  them  with  '  beef.' 

Willing  to  gratify  their  desire  he  got  out  his  rifle. 
His  first  shot  missed.  The  largeness  of  the  living  target 
shook  his  nerves,  and  the  rocking  of  the  boat  counted. 
His  second  shot  went  home,  and  though  the  wounded 
beast  got  away  into  the  bush,  Grenfell  learned  afterwards 
that  it  was  tracked  and  found  dead,  to  the  great  joy  of 
the  seekers  after  meat.  On  being  informed  that  this 
river  was  '  four  moons  long,'  and  the  first  town  a  day's 
pull  distant,  he  returned,  and  attempted  way  No.  2. 
This  was  occupied  by  herds  of  hippopotami,  led  to  a 
fishing  town,  and  ended  in  a  big  lake.  No.  3  proved 
too  shallow  for  navigation  ;  and  half  a  mile  of  No.  4 
revealed  communication  with  No.  3,  and  the  consequent 
existence  of  an  island.  Landing  on  this  island,  Grenfell 
walked  barefoot  on  the  hot  sands,  and  resolved  not  to 
repeat  the  experiment.  He  also  shot  a  number  of 
birds,  including  a  Kite  with  a  four  feet  spread  of  wings. 
The  taste  of  his  men  was  catholic  in  the  matter  of 
'poultry.'      They  ate  everything,  Kites  and  all,  being 


The  proposed  Inspection     6i 

particularly  pleased  by  the  death  of  the  '  Thief  birds,'  as 
they  style  the  members  of  the  hawk  tribe. 

While  on  this  island  the  crew  'struck,'  and  the 
head  man  communicated  their  decision  to  Grenfell. 
There  was  an  unsettled  blood  feud  between  Akwa's 
people,  and  the  Budiman  tribe  ahead,  so  they  resolutely 
declined  to  proceed  further  up  way  No.  4.  In  that  case 
Grenfell  decided  that  they  should  go  back  *  one  time,' 
that  is,  immediately,  and  barring  a  couple  of  hours 
spent  in  a  Wuri  town  for  rest  and  cooking,  they  were 
kept  at  the  oars  till  they  reached  home. 

While  the  men  were  cooking  in  the  Wuri  town, 
Grenfell  wandered  off  into  the  bush,  observed  certain 
grounds  where  elephants  used  to  feed  at  night,  and  in 
the  course  of  his  return  was  overtaken  by  a  chief  who 
begged  that  his  wives,  whom  he  had  left  some  distance 
behind,  might  be  gratified  by  the  sight  of  a  white  man. 
Grenfell  had  just  before  slipped  into  a  puddle  and  was 
literally  plastered  with  mud,  a  circumstance  which  made 
him  pardonably  shy  of  the  proposed  inspection.  But 
in  the  event  his  embarrassment  was  proved  needless. 
When  the  ladies  appeared  round  a  bend  in  the  path, 
they  stopped  dead.  As  the  white  man  approached 
they  retreated,  and  never  suffered  him  to  come  within 
pistol-shot  of  them.  Their  fear  was  greater  than  his 
own. 

It  was  dark  when  Grenfell  and  his  men  started  for 
the  long  pull  home.  Near  the  place  where  Ewangi  was 
killed  they  observed  the  crew  of  a  large  canoe,  number- 
ing about  fifty,  disembarking  for  the  night.  The 
strangers  were  first  amazed  by  the  white  man's  audacity 
in  going  down  river  in  the  dark,  and  then  emboldened 
to  follow  in  his  wake  ;  and  Grenfell  '  soon  heard  the 
dip  of  their  paddles  close  astern.'     It  was  between  two 


62  At  the  Cameroons 

and  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  they  arrived 
at  the  Mission  beach,  amid  a  storm  of  thunder  and 
lightning,  such  lightning  as  Grenfell  had  never  seen 
before.  The  illumination  was  continuous,  and  from 
all  points  of  the  compass.  It  was  also  useful,  facilitating 
the  discharge  of  the  contents  of  the  boat,  and  the 
necessary  walk  across  the  long  shelving  beach,  abound- 
ing in  treacherous  pools. 

The  'welcome  shelter'  of  home  was  peculiarly 
welcome  on  this  occasion,  for  before  it  was  reached  a 
furious  tornado  had  broken  over  the  town,  and  the 
flood-gates  of  the  sky  were  opened. 

The  farthest  point  reached  in  this  journey  was  fifty 
miles  inland  and  thirty  miles  above  the  Mission  station. 
In  his  next  journey  Grenfell  hoped  to  proceed  further, 
as  N'Toe,  the  Wuri  chief,  had  promised  to  accompany 
him,  so  that  the  Budiman  palaver  might  not  affect  his 
crew.  The  many  ruined  houses  in  the  Wuri  towns 
testified  to  the  ravages  of  small-pox,  which  had  prevailed 
a  year  previously.  The  appearance  of  the  people  was 
pleasing,  and  many  intelligent  faces  attracted  attention. 
They  were  also  less  exclusively  devoted  to  trade  than 
the  people  near  the  coast,  and  less  afraid  of  manual 
labour.  An  extensive  manufacture  of  earthenware  pots 
was  carried  on,  for  the  supply  of  neighbouring  tribes. 
The  missionary,  in  his  character  of  evangelist,  was 
everywhere  kindly  received,  and  his  message,  conveyed 
through  an  interpreter,  was  listened  to  with  close 
attention.  The  manners  and  customs  were  similar  to 
those  with  which  he  was  familiar,  though  one  odd  detail 
of  difference  was  gravely  noted.  The  holes  in  the  lobes 
of  the  women's  ears  were  larger.  He  observed  two 
cases  in  which  small  decanter  stoppers  were  worn  as 
earrings,   and   another  case   in   which   an   old   woman 


Attentions  of  a  Tig^er         63 

studied  use  and  ornament  by  carrying  her  snuff-box  in 
this  fashion.  The  purchase  of  a  wooden  spoon  for  a  few 
fish-hooks  drew  about  the  traveller  a  clamorous  crowd, 
anxious  to  dispose  of  spoons  of  all  sorts  and  calabashes 
of  all  sizes,  from  whose  insistent  and  unwelcome  appeals 
he  was  only  released  by  nightfall. 

In  a  letter  dated  May  20  he  writes  with  enthusiasm 
of  the  country,  and  of  his  work. 

'Cameroons  is  a  glorious  place,  a  charming  site 
for  a  new  Olympus,  Arcadia,  Valhalla  and  Happy 
Hunting-ground  all  in  one.  Mountains,  plains,  rivers, 
forests,  lakes  and  islands  all  beyond  my  powers  of 
description.  Birds  of  plumage  grave  and  gay,  of  good 
as  well  as  vicious  habits,  from  two  inches  long — the 
birds,  not  the  vicious  habits — up  to  the  pelican  (a  flock 
of  which  in  wondrous  order  flew  over  our  house  a  few 
days  ago).  Beasts — well,  we're  favoured  with  the  delicate 
attentions  of  a  tiger  (leopard)  with  a  taste  for  "  pig  " 
just  at  the  present  crisis.  He  has  left  his  spoor  on 
our  newly-made  bricks.  I  have  tracked  him  into  an 
impenetrable  jungle.  I  could  not  oust  him  from  his 
lair.  I  keep  a  double  charge  in  my  gun  at  night  for 
his  special  benefit ;  he  prowls  round  and  has  no  com- 
punction about  disturbing  us  with  his  noise.  I'll  disturb 
his  equanimity  if  I  get  a  chance.' 

There  follow  particulars  of  the  journey  which  has 
just  been  described,  and  later  these  important  personal 
references. 

*I  am  very  happy  at  work  here.  I  enjoy  the 
performance  of  my  duties  and  God  blesses  me  in  them. 
I  have  my  times  of  downheartedness  (littlesouledness), 
but  I  am  in  the  right  place  and  doing  the  right  work. 
The  consciousness  of  this  is  too  deep-seated  to  allow 
every  cloud  to  damp  my  ardour.     I  have  had  a  month's 


64  At  the  Cameroons 

fever.     African  fever  is  not  a  pleasant   companion  for 
long.     I  took  no  services  or  classes  during  the  time,  in 

fact  I  could  not.' 

On  June  i  at  ii  a.m.  Grenfell  started  out  on  a 
missionary  journey  to  the  Abo  towns.  Five  or  six 
hours'  rowing  brought  him  to  Kokki,  where  he  preached 
from  his  boat  to  a  congregation  seated  in  canoes,  who 
were  attracted  by  the  novelty  of  'Motu  Mokala' 
(white  man),  and  subsequently  filled  with  wonder  and 
admiration  by  his  breech-loading,  bright-barrelled  gun. 
Promising  a  visit  on  his  return,  he  pushed  on  to  Miang, 
and  upon  landing,  determined  to  spend  the  night  in 
a  dilapidated  trading  house,  which  was  available.  The 
hours  of  darkness  were  rendered  sleepless  and  purga- 
torial by  mosquitoes,  rats,  mice  and  lizards,  of  excep- 
tional vigour  and  audacity.  One  of  the  lizards  tried 
to  make  a  bed  in  Grenfell's  hair.  His  hair  was  too 
short  to  provide  adequate  accommodation,  and  one 
gathers  that  the  friendly  creature  found  other  troubles. 

Before  breakfast  he  started  for  Miang  town,  a  mile 
and  a  half  distant,  and  endured  a  wearisome  trudge, 
uphill  and  through  the  bush.  The  chief  Mweli,  on 
learning  the  nature  of  the  missionary's  errand,  beat 
up  an  audience.  After  preaching  for  a  short  time, 
Grenfell  moved  on  still  further  to  Anguan's  town, 
where  he  had  a  congregation  of  300  to  listen  to  his 
message.  In  the  course  of  this  last  bit  of  travel,  he 
met  a  splendid  specimen  of  primitive  manhood,  who 
led  him  to  note  that  the  appearance  of  the  people  is 
much  superior  to  the  popular  notion  at  home  ;  and  that 
'Darwin  must  not  come  to  the  Cameroons  or  its 
tributaries  for  his  "  missing  link."  ' 

On  the  return  journey  Mweli  begged  him  to  take  one 
of  his  sons  and  educate  him  at  the  Mission.     Existing 


A  Je-eng-o  Charm  65 

claims  compelled  him  reluctantly  to  refuse  this  and 
kindred  offers,  but  he  writes :  '  In  the  future,  however,  I 
look  forward  to  receiving  and  training  these  boys,  for 
under  God's  blessing  they  may  take  back  with  them, 
when  they  return  to  their  own  countries,  the  knowledge 
of  the  power  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.' 

Starting  at  noon,  they  reached  Mangamba,  but 
learning  there  was  another  town,  Mandoko,  beyond, 
determined  to  proceed  at  once.  The  shallowness  of  the 
water,  and  the  narrowness  of  the  Mandoko  creek,  made 
the  journey  intensely  laborious.  Near  the  end  of  the 
creek  they  found  another  deserted  house,  and  took 
possession.  This  house  was  protected  by  a  Je-engo 
charm :  a  bamboo  rod,  split  at  the  top,  and  surmounted 
by  a  tuft  of  grass.  Je-engo  is  a  form  of  secret,  religious 
society,  of  which  freemen  alone  are  permitted  to  become 
members.  It  claims  the  power  to  issue  edicts  making 
certain  objects  '  Eboe,'  i.e.  '  taboo,'  and  to  impose  the 
death  penalty,  if  its  laws  are  disregarded.  The  house 
chosen  by  Grenfell  for  a  temporary  lodging  was  '  Eboe.' 
No  man  might  dismantle  it  to  repair  his  own  house  with 
the  materials.  But  Time  had  proved  careless  of  '  Eboe,' 
and  it  was  a  ruin,  though  usable. 

Leaving  part  of  his  crew  to  cook,  taking  part  as 
escort,  and  securing  a  guide,  Grenfell  started  for  King 
Le'a's  town  two  and  a  half  miles  distant.  The  highway 
to  the  town  leads  through  a  sheet  of  water,  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  long  and  two  and  a  half  feet  deep  in  places.  He 
was  carried  through  shoulder  high,  going,  but  waded  on 
return.  After  passing  the  ruins  of  a  former  Mandoko, 
destroyed  by  a  neighbouring  tribe  in  time  of  war,  he  at 
length  arrived  at  the  King's  house,  and  as  it  stood  a 
mile  within  the  borders  of  the  town,  he  concluded  that 
Mandoko   must    be   the    largest   town    of  the   district. 

F 


66  At  the  Cameroons 

Mango  trees  were  observed  here :  '  Offshoots  of  those 
Mr.  Saker  brought  to  Cameroons,  thirty  years  ago.' 

The  missionary  was  well  received  by  the  King, 
delivered  his  message,  and  took  back  with  him  Priso, 
one  of  the  King's  many  sons.  The  party  arrived  at  the 
'  Eboe '  house,  just  in  time  to  secure  shelter  from  a 
tornado.  Grenfell  was  intensely  hungry,  and  writes: 
*  This  evening  I  ate  my  first  "  country  chop,"  fowl,  with 
plantain,  palm  oil  and  African  peppers.  Weren't  they 
hot  } '  The  burning  of  certain  beanhusks  secured 
immunity  from  mosquitoes,  and  a  good  night's  rest 
was  enjoyed. 

On  June  3,  the  homeward  journey  was  commenced. 
Mangamba  and  Bonamquasi  were  visited,  and  another 
night  of  anguish  spent  at  Miang.  In  the  morning 
Mweli,  the  chief,  sent  a  present  of  cocoa-nuts,  particu- 
larly welcome  for  the  wholesome  drink  they  supplied. 

'  I  have  not  yet  discovered  "  Afric's  sunny  fountains,"  ' 
the  journal  records.  'Afric's  decomposed-organic- 
matter-in-suspension-laden  streams  abound  ;  but  unless 
you  adopt  the  precaution  of  boiling,  they  have  an 
awkward  tendency  to  produce  diarrhoea.  " ' 

This  judgment  must  have  been  quickly  modified  by 
subsequent  experience,  for  less  than  three  months  later 
Grenfell  writes,  in  a  letter  to  his  College  friend,  the 
Rev.  J.  M.  G.  Owen  :  'You  also  ask  if  "  Old  Heber  "  is 
correct  in  his  statement,  or  is  he  drawing  the  long  bow, 
when  he  refers  to  "  Afric's  sunny  fountains."  At  first  I 
thought  said  party  to  be  an  awful  fibber,  for  I  could  light 
upon  nothing  but  Afric's  decomposed-organic-matter-in- 
suspension-laden  streams.  But  since  I  have  been  up 
country,  and  laved  myself  in  sunny  waters,  clear  as 
crystal,  and  beautifully  cool,  I  can  corroborate  the 
statement  of  the  aforesaid  "  Old  Heber."  ' 


Abo  Industries  ej 

The  promised  visit  to  Kokki,  where  two  meetings 
were  held,  concluded  the  business  of  the  expedition,  and 
Grenfell  made  for  home  to  prepare  for  Sunday's  services. 

In  the  course  of  this  journey  he  was  impressed  by 
the  industry  and  intelligence  of  the  Abo  people.  He 
found  them  skilled  workers  in  iron,  steel  and  wood,  with 
forges,  carpenters'  shops,  and  a  curious  and  ingenious 
mixture  of  native  and  European  tools.  They  produced 
swords,  spears,  axes,  hoes,  chisels,  etc.,  while  wooden- 
stool  making  formed  a  most  important  industry,  bamboo 
beds  and  wooden  stools  being  the  only  articles  of 
furniture  in  native  houses.  Even  chiefs,  who  com- 
manded numerous  slaves  and  wives,  were  not  above 
working  with  their  hands,  and  Grenfell  found  King  Le'a 
making  a  fishing  net,  and  the  chief  of  Kokki,  a  large 
canoe  paddle. 

The  country  is  much  more  picturesque  than  on  the 
lower  river,  and  from  the  hills  of  Bonamquasi,  fine  views 
of  surrounding  scenery  and  distant  mountains  are  to  be 
obtained.  As  to  journeying  in  these  regions  Grenfell 
writes :  *  Travelling  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa,  so  far 
as  my  experience  goes,  cannot  be  performed  in  a  very 
luxurious  manner.  A  missionary's  boat  scarcely  gives 
him  room  to  stretch  his  legs  while  on  the  water.  On 
land,  mosquitoes,  sand  flies,  lizards,  and  other  pests 
disallow  much  peace.  Added  to  these  troubles  is  the 
difficulty  of  approach  to  the  towns,  a  precaution  adopted 
in  the  old  slave-hunting  times.  Mandoko  has  the 
barrier  of  water,  to  be  waded  through,  or  carried  over. 
Mangamba  and  Bonamquasi  are  built  on  the  summits 
of  very  steep  hills.  The  approach  to  the  latter  is  so 
steep  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  single-file  path 
consists  of  steps ;  and  a  path  must  be  very  steep  to 
compel   Africans  to  resort  to  steps.     To  reach  Miang 


68  At  the  Camepoons 

you  had  to  go  over  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  consequently 
there  arc  narrow,  water-worn,  steep,  and  rugged  paths 
to  ascend,  both  in  going  and  coming.' 

The  Abo  district  is  a  great  mimbo  (palm-wine) 
producing  country.  Many  people  get  their  living  by 
collecting  the  palm-juice  from  trees  that  grow  alongside 
the  river  and  the  creek.  The  collector  walks  up  the 
tree  by  means  of  a  band,  which  passes  round  the  trunk 
and  his  own  body.  An  incision  is  made  at  the  junction 
of  the  long  fronds  with  the  stem,  from  which  the  juice 
flows  slowly  into  a  pot,  suspended  for  its  reception.  It 
is  collected  daily,  and  taken  to  the  boiling  shed,  where 
it  is  quickly  converted  into  mimbo. 

Under  date  June  lo,  Grenfell  reports  a  visit  to  the 
Bethel  Station  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Missionary, 
Vicar-General  of  Gaboon.  '  After  an  interview  with 
Mr.  Saker,  we  went  out  to  view  the  Chapel  and  the 
town.  The  brick  house  and  the  native  erections 
excited  the  amiable  Bishop's  curiosity  and  admiration. 
There  ensued  a  very  pleasant  interview,  of  an  hour  or 
two's  duration,  after  which  I  accompanied  my  visitor 
to  the  mail.' 

June  II  finds  him  at  the  crisis  of  one  of  those 
minor  woes  of  domestic  life,  which  would  elicit  the 
acute  sympathy  of  many  feminine  readers  if  space 
permitted  the  narration  of  the  story.  His  cook  had 
become  impossible  and  must  go.  The  list  of  his 
culinary  inaptitudes,  misdemeanours,  and  atrocities  is 
appalling.  Yet  even  for  him  his  kind  master  has  a 
good  word  to  say.  '  He  was  a  capital  hand  at  taking 
physic,  for  which  he  seemed  at  times  to  have  acquired 
quite  a  passion.  We  have  known  him  afflicted  with 
three  distinct  complaints  in  one  day.  Early  in  the 
morning   he   had    worms ;    at    midday   he   had    a   sore 


Quipi  Rescued  69 

throat ;  and  before  nightfall  there  was  something  the 
matter  with  his  heart.  So  bad  a  case  called  for  strong 
treatment,  and  I  gave  him  a  potent  mixture.  He  has 
not  troubled  me  much  since,  except  that  when  my  other 
boy  got  ill  he  was  sure  to  be  attacked  too.' 

On  June  12  Grenfell  reports  himself  as  suffering 
from  a  slight  fever ;  graphically  describes  the  killing 
of  a  huge  snake  in  a  house  at  the  corner  of  the 
Mission  yard,  and  gives  a  hearsay  account  of  the 
*  driver  ants,'  which  travel  in  dense  columns  of  a  foot 
wide,  and  drive  all  living  things  before  them.  Later  he 
was  able  to  discourse  on  this  theme  with  the  authority 
of  personal  experience. 

June  13.  '  N'Kwi  brought  Ouiri  in  at  breakfast 
time.  Quiri's  mother  died  yesterday,  and  he  was  about 
to  be  buried  with  her,  as  no  one  would  take  him.  It 
would  be  bad  luck.  N'Kwi,  passing  by,  observed  them 
burying  the  woman  under  the  floor  of  the  house,  took 
the  child,  a  promising  boy  of  five  months,  and  handed 
him  over  to  the  Mission.'  Mr.  Saker's  cook,  Tutu,  who 
was  suckling  a  child  of  her  own,  promptly  undertook 
the  duties  of  foster-mother.  A  boy  nurse  also  came 
with  the  child,  for  the  boys  are  as  fond  of  nursing  in 
Cameroons  as  are  girls  at  home.  Married  men,  too, 
do  a  great  deal  of  nursing,  while  their  wives  are 
engaged  on  the  farms.  They  have  time,  as  their 
day's  engagements  often  consist  of  little  more  than 
bathing  three  times  in  the  river,  and  drying  themselves 
as  many  times  in  the  sun.  The  babies  are  taken  into 
the  river,  ducked  mercilessly,  and  if  they  survive  become 
'  amphibious  creatures,'  as  much  at  home  in  water  as  on 
land. 

June   14.     'Trade  to-day  opens  and    is   as  of  old. 
This  ends  a  dispute  which  for  nine  months  has  stopped 


yo  At  the  Camepoons 

all  business  in  the  river.  Mutual  concessions  have  been 
made  in  the  matter  of  prices  ;  but  I  think  the  Europeans 
have  made  but  slight  ones  compared  with  those  of  the 
native  trader,  who  will  no  doubt  take  advantage  of 
the  palaver,  and  make  even  greater  profit  out  of  the 
middleman  from  whom  he  obtains  the  oil.  He  again 
will  recoup  himself  at  the  expense  of  the  producers,  the 
poor  women  and  children  of  the  interior.  Labour  must 
be  very  cheap,  or  so  many  profits  could  not  be  realized. 

'  Aristocracy,  nobility,  even  royalty  itself  is  not  too 
high-minded  to  engage  in  commerce.  In  fact  it  is 
their  commercial  enterprise  that  supports  them,  for  they 
have  no  other  revenues.  Even  the  high  and  mighty 
potentates,  Kings  Ja-Ja  and  Oko  Jumbo,  are  traders, 
and  trade  palavers  were  the  cause  of  the  wars  of  these 
kings,  and  the  ultimate  migration  of  the  worsted  party 
to  the  Opobo  River  ;  and  it  was  there  I  had  the  extreme 
felicity  of  being  introduced  to  his  majesty  Ja-Ja.' 

There  follows  a  pen-and-ink  portrait  of  King  William 
of  Bimbia,  an  ostentatious  and  boastful  monarch  who 
very  much  resembles  a  parish  beadle  in  his  attire,  and 
who  has  lately  visited  Mr.  Saker  more  than  once,  beg- 
ging. The  ignoble  nobility  of  the  Cameroons  is  not 
above  begging.  Most  of  them  will  cringe  and  fawn  for 
a  head  of  tobacco,  worth  threepence ;  '  and  there  is  not 
one  of  them  who  is  above  receiving  "  a  dash  "  (which  he 
asks  from  a  missionary  as  well  as  a  trader)  of  the  value 
of  a  bar  and  a  half,  equal  to  eighteen  pence.  A  bar, 
may  be  a  bar  of  soap,  of  iron,  of  copper,  all  of  the  value 
of  a  shilling.  A  fathom  of  chintz  or  blue  satin  stripe,  a 
sort  of  muslin  used  for  waist-cloths,  equals  a  bar.  So 
many  heads  of  tobacco  (3)  equal  a  bar.  So  many  pipes, 
fish-hooks,  etc.,  equal  a  bar.  A  full-grown  fowl  is  priced 
at  a  bar,  but  as  a  bar  of  fish-hooks  does  not  cost  half  as 


The  Bap  Standard 


71 


much  as  a  bar  of  soap  or  of  cloth,  to  buy  a  fowl  with 
fish-hooks,  or  a  chest-lock,  which  also  equals  a  bar,  is 
economical.  A  bar  is  the  standard.  A  canoe  to  hold 
fifty  men  costs  1 200  to  1 500  bars ;  a  wife,  from  800 
bars  up.' 


THE  I 

CAMEROONS. 

■H-'Ji       Shcmnp  GrenfeU's Joiimeysr  «^ 

i'67-q--is'7e. 


CHAPTER   IV 
AT   THE  CAMEROONS— continued 

In  Ill-health— On  the  Way  Home— Arrival— Marriage— Return  to 
Cameroons — '  Exciting  Time  '  on  the  River — Death  of  Mr. 
Smith— Added  Responsibility— Slow  Progress  of  the  Gospel- 
Death  of  Mrs.  Grenfell— '  A  Sad  New  Year'— Daily  Life— And 
Daily  Costume — Difficulties  with  Spanish  Authorities— Views 
on  Interior  Missions — Geography  of  the  District— Hopes  of 
Better  Times  —  A  Snake  Story  —  Dumbi  —  The  Rev.  J.  J. 
Fuller— Grenfell  and  Comber. 

IN  a  letter  to  Mr.  Owen  dated  August  20  containing 
the  reference  to  Heber  and  '  Afric's  sunny  foun- 
tains,' already  cited,  Grenfell  states  that  he  has  had 
a  serious  attack  of  fever  and  is  in  fine  condition  for 
phrenological  examination,  having  been  cropped  to  the 
bone.  His  friend  had  suggested,  under  what  provoca- 
tion does  not  appear,  that  he  was  mad  when  he  wrote 
a  previous  letter.  He  surmises  a  like  verdict  will  be 
passed  this  time.  'But  what  can  be  expected  of  a 
poor  fellow  whose  pulse  is  chronically  going  beyond  a 
hundred,  and  sometimes  reaches  130.'''  His  own  ill- 
ness, and  Mr.  Saker's  failing  strength,  will  probably 
necessitate  his  early  return  to  England  that  he  may  be 
ready  to  take  charge  if  Mr.  Saker  should  relinquish 
duty  early  next  year.  Though  very  low  he  has  a  good 
heart,  and  expects  to  be  well  by  the  time  he  arrives  at 
Liverpool.  He  cannot  speak  definitely  of  his  return, 
as   communication    with    Cameroons    is    so    uncertain. 


Voyag*e  in  a  Cutter  t^ 

Probably  he  will  have  to  sail  to  Fernando  Po,  and  there 
await  a  steamer.  The  short  journey  to  Fernando  Po  is 
no  light  matter,  and  he  gives  a  long  and  graphic  account 
of  a  painful  voyage,  in  a  cutter,  there  and  back,  which 
occupied  seven  days.     This  forecast  was  fulfilled. 

*  S.S.  "  Volta."  23  Nov.  1875.  I'm  getting  tired  of  this. 
Here  I  am  in  the  sixth  week  of  my  journeying  and  have 
not  reached  the  Canaries  yet.  It  will  be  more  than  a 
seven  weeks'  voyage  this  time. 

'  The  Captain  of  the  steamer  "  Congo  "  promised  to 
call  for  me  on  the  loth  October,  but  failed  to  keep  his 
word  and  I  had  to  cross  to  Fernando  Po  in  a  cutter. 
I  had  to  sleep  for  a  couple  of  nights  on  the  tarpaulin 
over  the  hatch,  amid  all  sorts  of  sundries  that  collect 
upon  the  deck  of  a  boat  forty  feet  long,  consisting 
of  ropes,  cooking  utensils,  marline-spikes  and  other 
etceteras  which  go  to  make  a  comfortable  lodging. 
The  failure  of  the  "  Congo  "  to  call  accounts  for  my  being 
three  or  four  weeks  behind  time. 

'  My  health  is  much  improved.  I  have  not  had  nearly 
so  much  fever  and  ague  on  board  as  on  shore.  It's  of 
no  use  to  spin  a  long  yarn  now  I  am  so  near  seeing  you 
face  to  face.' 

The  records  of  Grenfell's  brief  stay  in  England 
accessible  to  the  biographer,  are  out  of  all  proportion, 
in  their  meagreness,  to  its  personal  significance  for  him. 
In  one  of  his  letters,  written  at  the  Cameroons,  he  says 
that  during  a  long  spell  of  fever,  which  incapacitated 
him  for  more  urgent  duties,  and  also  for  correspondence, 
his  letter-writing  was  restricted  within  limits  'you  can 
define.'  Undoubtedly  he  meant,  that  he  wrote  only  to 
Miss  Mary  Hawkes,  the  lady  to  whom  he  was  engaged 
to  be  married.  Miss  Hawkes  was  the  sister  of  his  friend 
Joseph  Hawkes,  a  member  of  Heneage  Street  Church, 


74  At  the  Camepoons 

one  of  his  former  fellow-workers,  and  admirably  qualified 
to  aid  him  in  the  service  to  which  he  had  devoted  his 
life. 

The  marriage  took  place  on  February  ii,  1876,  at 
Heneage  Street  Church,  Birmingham,  and  the  service 
was  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hawkes,  of  Braintree, 
Essex,  brother  of  the  bride.  On  February  19  Grenfell 
writes  to  a  friend  a  brief  note,  humorously  acknowledging 
the  engrossing  nature  of  his  recent  experience,  and  duly 
apologizing  for  delay  in  answering  a  welcome  letter. 
He  continues  :  *  However,  I  have  just  managed  to  screw 
a  bit  out  of  the  corner  of  to-day  to  reply  to  your  kind 
epistle.  The  thought  of  writing  has  been  ever  present 
since  landing,  and  in  fact,  so  far  back  as  December  9,  I 
furnished  myself  with  your  address. 

Item  I.  I  am  better. 

2.  I  am  married. 

3.  We  sail  on  Saturday  at  10  a.m. 

This  therefore  serves  to  say  "  Good-bye  "  again,  to  thank 
you  for  your  good  wishes,  and  to  express  my  most 
profound  regrets  that  we  have  not  met.' 

To  the  same  friend,  Mr.  Owen,  he  writes  from 
Cameroons  under  date  May  11,  making  interesting 
reference  to  his  voyage  and  subsequent  experiences  : 
'  Your  letters  are  always  better  than  a  doctor's  fee,  and 
invariably  do  me  more  good  than  a  bottle  of  physic  ; 
but  although  I  got  your  last  epistle  out  for  re-perusal 
on  board  ship,  it  did  not  succeed  where  the  doctor  had 
failed  this  time.  I'm  a  wretched  sailor ;  my  wife  beats 
me  hollow.  She  got  on  deck  a  day  before  I  did.  You 
may  judge  (that  is,  if  you  have  ever  been  sea  sick), 
that  the  first  week  was  a  festive  season.  At  last 
Madeira  was  sighted,   and   not    long   after   afforded    a 


A  Rig-ht  Hearty  Welcome     75 

firmer  foundation  for  us  saints  than  the  quarter  of  the 
steamer.     I    felt  quite  at   home   at    Funchal.     It   was 

delightfully  new  and  strange  to  Mrs.  G .     Teneriffe 

ditto.  We  went  up  the  Gambia  to  Bathurst.  It's  a 
glorious  place  ;  I  sincerely  hope  the  Government  won't 
cede  it  to  the  French.  After  being  knocked  up  and 
down,  and  serving  as  shuttlecocks  for  old  Father  Nep.'s 
battledores  for  upwards  of  a  month,  we  landed  on  the 
6th  April  and  received  a  right  hearty  welcome  from  the 
people.  Although  the  "pre  ramme"  was  not  strictly 
adhered  to  in  the  formation  of  the  procession,  the  pro- 
cession was  there.  The  exuberance  of  their  feelings  and 
delight  at  seeing  "  Mammie  "  destroyed  all  discipline,  in 
fact  demoralized  the  whole  cortege. 

'  Since  being  here  I  have  made  a  short  journey  in 
the  little  steamer.  She  is  a  splendid  little  thing  for 
accommodation,  but  draws  rather  too  much  water  for 
our  rivers,  which  widen  out  in  places  and  become  very 
shallow.  I  am  now  preparing  for  another  trip  in  my 
sailing-boat,  which  will  carry  me  far  beyond  the  limit 
accessible  by  the  steamer.  Of  course  I  shan't  be  so 
comfortable  in  my  little  boat.  The  people  were  very 
much  startled  by  the  steamer.  Except  those  who  had 
visited  the  mail  anchorage  when  a  steamer  happened  to 
be  in,  none  of  them  had  seen  one  before. 

*  The  people  are  glad  to  see  us,  very  anxious  to  do 
a  bit  of  bartering,  but  very  slow  to  believe  our  message  ; 
indeed  they  are  very  incredulous. 

'  Once  when  we  struck  on  a  sand  bank,  a  chief  sent 
his  men  to  push  us  off.  The  effort  made  was  successful, 
so  we  "  dashed  "  the  men  a  few  hooks,  and  the  chief,  a 
fathom  of  blue  baft.  A  little  time  elapsed  and  we  were 
overtaken  by  the  chief,  who  wanted  a  "  dash "  for  his 
wife.    I  gave  him  a  pair  of  earrings,  value  twopence,  and 


76  At  the  Cameroons 

the  old  man  went  away  delighted,  leaving  a  fowl,  and 
promising  if  we  would  only  wait  he  would  send  us  a 
goat  as  soon  as  he  got  on  shore  again.  We  could  not 
wait,  so  promised  to  call  again  for  the  goat,  which  I 
shall  be  careful  to  do.  The  scenery  was  very  fine.  It's 
a  glorious  country  to  look  at,  but  not  so  nice  to  live  in  ; 
in  fact  there  are  too  many  living  in  it  to  be  comfortable. 
I  allude  to  mosquitoes  and  other  reptiles.  .  .  . 

'  When  you  write  let's  have  the  news  about  College 
(Stokes  Croft,  I  mean)  so  far  as  you  are  informed. 
Even  during  my  short  absence  of  a  year  I  found  the 
place  wonderfully  changed — when  I  see  it  again  I 
wonder  what  then  ?  The  men  all  scattered,  you  a 
weighty  Divine  or  a  ponderous  Don,  and  myself,  if  God 
spares  my  life  to  return,  no  longer  plump  as  of  yore,  but 
a  dried-up  African  Missionary.  I  can  assure  you  I  am 
fast  losing  my  attractive  qualities  from  a  cannibal  point 
of  view — 92°  in  the  shade  tends  to  reduction.  ...  I  must 
wind  up  by  telling  you  I'm  well,  never  better ;  am  full 
of  good  resolves  and  great  intentions  ;  I  pray  they  may 
ripen  into  something.  My  wife,  who  is  not  very  well — 
she's  just  recovering  from  her  first  dose  of  fever — ^joins 
with  me  in  hoping  all  sorts  of  good  things  on  your 
behalf.' 

On  June  15  Mrs.  Grenfell  is  reported  as  suffering 
from  ague.  She  has  gone  to  stay  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fuller,  three  miles  up  the  river,  a  visit  that  '  always  does 
her  good.'  The  painting  of  his  boat  has  been  a  minor 
trouble  to  Grenfell.  Apparently  he  has  been  as  fastidious 
about  the  colour,  as  a  girl  might  be  about  the  tint  of  her 
spring  costume.  More  serious  trouble  again  has  been 
occasioned  by  the  blood-thirstiness  of  his  neighbours. 

'  We've  had  an  exciting  time  of  it  in  the  river  this 
week.     A    quarrel   at    Hickory  town   on    Monday  last, 


'Book   for  Cut'  ^^ 

which  was  fixed  upon  as  a  great  play  day  for  the  Elung 
secret  society,  resulted  in  two  freemen  being  killed. 
King  Bell,  who  is  chief  of  the  Prisu  people  as  well  as 
the  town  next  us,  went  up  with  his  war  canoes  and 
brought  the  two  murderers  down  to  his  place,  upon  the 
pretext  of  their  drinking  the  ordeal  cup ;  but  instead 
of  that  he  had  them  shot  upon  the  beach  yesterday 
morning.  These  also  were  freemen,  and  it  is  quite  rare 
for  such  to  suffer  the  extreme  penalty.  Beside  the  four 
dead,  there  are  about  twenty  badly  injured  in  the  fight, 
and  another  twenty  just  able  to  get  about.  Sticking 
plaster  and  friar's  balsam  are  at  a  premium  just  now. 
I  am  bothered  for  "  book  for  cut."  A  letter  is  "  book," 
and  sticking  plaster  is  *'  book  "  here  as  well  as  a  printed 
volume.' 

In  August,  Mr.  Smith,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
station  at  Victoria,  and  had  the  oversight  of  Mr. 
Quentin  Thomson's  station  up  the  mountain,  died. 
Grenfell  was  compelled  to  take  up  this  additional 
burden,  and  found  himself  responsible  for  three  stations. 
Writing  in  September  he  says  that  Mr.  Saker  has  sent 
off  the  greater  part  of  his  luggage  and  is  preparing  to 
follow.  When  Saker  is  gone  there  will  only  be  Mr. 
Fuller  and  himself  left.  He  is  sending  to  England  for 
stores  for  next  year,  and  as  nine-tenths  of  the  expenses 
of  the  sub-stations  have  to  be  defrayed  in  goods,  the 
secular  work  of  the  Mission  claims  no  small  part  of  his 
time.  Things  light,  and  things  grave,  mingle  in  the 
following  paragraph,  but  both  are  expressive  of  the 
man — 

'  I  enclose  a  feather  for  Lily's  hat.  My  boys  ate  the 
bird.  I  got  the  wings.  My  crew,  for  a  long  pull  such 
as  to  Victoria,  consists  of  nine  or  ten  hands.  My  gun  is 
very  useful  as  a  provider  of  fresh  meat  on  such  occasions. 


78  At  the  Cameroons 

This  is  a  dark  land.  Christ  and  His  Gospel  make  but 
slow  progress  here.  I  am  often  sad,  and  wish  I  were  a 
more  able  servant.  Your  experience  no  doubt  can 
furnish  you  with  a  notion  of  the  great  barrier  which  the 
indolence  and  self-seeking  of  the  people  form  against 
the  truth,  which  bids  diligent  service,  and  self-denial.* 

Early  in  the  new  year,  sorrow  knocked  at  Gren fell's 
door.  His  wife  died.  Naturally  he  wrote  longer  and 
more  detailed  letters  to  kinsfolk,  but  the  following  note, 
to  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis,  of  Birmingham,  dated  Cameroons, 
January  13,  1877,  tells  all  that  needs  to  be  told,  in  few 
words  of  sufficient  poignancy  : — 

'  It's  a  sad  new  year  I've  had  of  it.  It's  sorrowful 
news  I've  to  tell.  First  Polly  was  sick,  then  worse,  now 
dead  and  buried.  I  can't  write  much  about  it ;  it's  going 
through  it  all  again.  I'm  all  alone,  and  you  may  guess 
how  wretched.  I  can't  realize  my  position  yet,  or  under- 
stand why  I'm  so  soon  deprived  of  the  help  I  so  much 
need.  But  I  must  not  write  so.  About  a  month  ago 
Polly  was  attacked  by  dysentery.  This  I  could  by  no 
means  subdue.  It  continued  till  it  induced  premature 
delivery  of  a  dead  child  on  the  3rd  inst.  On  the  4th 
and  5th  Polly  was  rallying  a  bit  I  thought,  and  I  did 
not  at  all  fear  a  fatal  result.  However,  on  the  8th  she 
was  delirious,  and  I  traced  symptoms  of  puerperal  fever 
which  proved  fatal  on  the  loth.  During  the  lucid 
intervals  of  the  last  three  days  she  manifested  great 
composure.  She  said  "  I'm  not  afraid  to  die,  only  sorry 
to  leave  you  by  yourself."  Then  she  had,  I'm  sure,  very 
bright  glimpses  into  the  future.  I  scarcely  care  to  go 
over  her  words  again  ;  but  she  was  happy,  very  happy, 
and  died  full  of  glorious  anticipations.  I  never  felt  the 
other  world  so  real.  It  is  nearer  than  ever  it  was.  I 
can't  write  any  more. 


A  Picture  of  Himself         79 

*  Give  my  love  to  Jenny  and  the  boy.  Tell  him,  as 
the  natives  say,  "big  trouble  catch  me  this  time  for 
true." ' 

Shortly  after  this  heavy  blow,  the  Rev.  T.  J.  Comber, 
who  had  settled  at  Victoria,  came  to  live  with  Grenfell, 
and  his  sympathetic  companionship  afforded  the  best 
possible  human  consolation.  They  were  like-minded, 
and  made  some  important  journeys  together. 

It  would  not  be  possible  to  attempt  anything  like  a 
connected  account  of  Grenfell's  remaining  stay  at  the 
Cameroons  even  if  the  materials  available  permitted. 
The  story  would  be  disproportionately  long.  But 
extracts  from  some  few  of  his  letters  will  enable  the 
reader  to  form  a  not  inadequate  conception  of  the  man 
at  his  work.  Here  is  a  picture  of  himself  and  his 
environment  sketched  by  his  own  pen  in  July,  1877  :— 

'  I  am  busy,  too,  setting  up  our  saw  mill.  I  hope  I 
shall  manage  to  make  it  go.  Mr.  Saker  had  it  taken  to 
pieces  some  years  ago,  and  it  has  never  been  refixed 
since ;  and  as  things  are  very  apt  to  go  astray,  especially 
bolts  and  nuts,  I  am  having  a  turn  at  the  forge  most 
days  for  something  or  other  connected  with  it.  If  you 
saw  me  sometimes  after  my  engine  work  you  would 
think  there  was  small  relation  'twixt  the  present  G.  G. 
and  the  old  one  you  knew  ;  not  much  like  an  "  eminent 
divine  "  I  can  assure  you.  It's  rough  sort  of  work,  but 
suits  me  very  well.  I  don't  write  my  sermons  now. 
One  has  to  talk  very  plainly  and  very  simply,  and  give 
it  in  small  doses,  and  hit  hard,  to  reach  the  folk.  A 
plainness  that  would  not  be  tolerated  at  home  is  the 
best  and  only  style  suitable  to  these  thick-skinned  sons 
of  Ham.  You'll  say  I'm  disrespectful  in  my  style. 
Well,  you  must  not  make  my  letter  public  property, 
people  would  think  I'm  "going  wrong,"  and  hold  up  their 


8o  At  the  Cameroons 

hands  in  pious  horror,  and  exclaim  "  another  good  man 

gone  to  the  bad."     Look,  L ,  it  would  not  be  much 

use  for  me  to  turn  out  in  a  suit  of  regimentals  every  day. 
Pink  shirts,  minus  several  of  the  buttons,  sail-cloth  un- 
mentionables, with  a  jack  knife  in  a  sheath,  so  as  to  be 
always  handy  when  in  the  boat  or  at  work  ;  a  sou'-wester 
if  it's  wet,  or  if  it's  dry,  an  old  helmet,  serves  as  head 
gear.  A  pair  of  shoes  well  ventilated,  and  socks  that 
are  a  perfect  puzzle  when  I  wear  them,  and  often  no 
socks  at  all.  Good  boots  are  a  mistake,  the  water  on 
our  beaches  spoils  them  in  a  day  or  two ;  and  as  we 
don't  study  keeping  feet  dry,  to  protect  them  from  the 
pebbles,  etc.,  any  old  things  do.  I've  a  favourite  old 
pair,  which,  by  the  bye,  are  not  a  pair,  for  one  is  a 
buttoned  one  minus  the  buttons,  the  other  a  lace,  tied 
at  the  time  I  write  with  a  bit  of  bush  grass.  To-morrow 
sometime  it  will  break  perhaps,  and  if  you  were  here 
you'd  see  me  rummaging  about  for  a  bit  of  fibre  or 
something  of  the  sort,  before  I  could  get  back  to  the 
house  again,  unless  I  went  "  one  shoe  off  and  one 
shoe  on." 

'This  is  about  the  style  of  my  working  rig.  Of 
course  for  meeting  I  adorn,  with  a  decent  "  biled  rag  " 
and  less  questionable  pants,  and  sometimes  rise  to  the 
dignity  of  a  collar.  When  a  steamer  comes  in  (which 
one  has  not  done  for  nearly  three  months  past),  I  "tidy 
up  "  a  bit  ;  and  if  I  am  out  in  the  boat  or  steamer  I  have 
a  change  handy  for  going  ashore.  For  instance,  when 
at  Fernando  Po  last  in  our  little  steamer,  because  I  had 
no  "  papers  "  the  Spanish  Commandant  of  the  port  sent 
his  boat  to  bring  me  on  board  the  Guard-Ship,  it  would 
not  have  done  to  have  gone  in  stoke-hole  gear. 

'  At  Fernando  the  Spaniards  are  awfully  suspicious, 
and  I  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  convince  them  that 


The  Spanish  Guapd-Ship      8i 

I  had  no  other  cargo  than  two  reams  of  printing  paper 
and  letters  for  England.  They  would  not  let  me  send 
my  boat  ashore  until  I  had  undergone  categorical 
enquiry,  and  personal  inspection.  However,  I  satisfied 
the  Spanish  Dons,  and  went  ashore  without  further 
molestation.  The  Spanish  "  powers  that  be  "  out  there 
in  Fernando  Po,  are  closely  related  to  the  powers  that 
"  are  not "  at  times,  for,  a  little  while  ago,  when  an 
English  Man-of-War  went  there,  the  Spanish  had  no 
powder  to  return  the  salute.  A  little  while  before  this, 
their  Guard-Ship  was  ordered  home,  and  after  being  out 
nearly  a  fortnight  was  obliged  to  turn  back  leaky.  If 
I  had  gone  into  port  with  full  steam  on,  and  made 
straight  for  their  old  tub  they'd  have  been  in  a  fright 
for  fear  they'd  have  gone  to  the  bottom,  for  their  afore- 
said tub  would  not  have  stood  much  "  ramming." 

'  I  am  now  preparing  for  further  journeying  when  the 
dry  season  comes,  nearly  three  months  yet.  I  have  one 
Teneriffe  donkey,  and  hope  to  get  another  soon.  The 
one  I  have  is  quite  a  curiosity  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives 
who  have  never  seen  one  before.  They  come  for  miles 
to  see  him,  and  in  crowds,  are  quite  terror-stricken  when 
he  brays,  and  retreat  in  amusing  confusion.  I  have  not 
yet  had  him  in  harness  for  he  has  one  or  two  bare  places 
on  his  legs,  the  results  of  his  sea  voyage.' 

About  this  time  Grenfell  wrote  a  letter  to  Dr.  Glover, 
of  Bristol,  whose  church  had  taken  friendly  and  practical 
interest  in  his  explorations.  It  contains  a  brief  general 
sketch  of  his  journeyings,  with  some  important  reflections 
upon  the  relative  merits  of  coast  and  interior  as  fields 
for  Mission  work. 

*  In  all  my  journeyings  I  have  kept  in  view  the 
object  of  finding  the  best  route  into  the  interior ;  for 
I  believe  that  if  the  same  amount  of  efibrt  which  is 

G 


82  At  the  Cameroons 

bestowed  here  were  bestowed  upon  some  inland  station 
it  would  produce  far  greater  results.  This  station  must 
be  sustained,  but  much  might  radiate  from  it  that  is 
now  centred  in  it.  This  view  respecting  the  greater 
success  of  inland  missions  was  confirmed  by  Mr. 
Rottman,  whom  I  entertained  a  month  or  so  back  for 
three  days  during  the  stay  of  the  steamer  here.  He  is 
one  of  the  seniors  of  some  forty  Europeans  constituting 
the  Basle  Mission,  whose  headquarters  are  at  Christians- 
borg,  near  Accra.  He  said  that  their  coast  stations 
had  to  contend  with  almost  insuperable  difficulties, 
and  made  but  little  progress  ;  while  their  inland  stations 
were  far  more  prosperous,  and  much  better  health  pre- 
vailed among  the  Europeans.  Lieutenant  Young,  of 
the  Livingstonia  Mission,  refers  to  the  fact  of  the  coast 
tribes  being  spoiled  by  their  contact  with  the  traders  on 
the  east.  It  is  the  same  here  on  the  west.  It  would  be 
a  grand  thing  to  be  able  to  push  away  right  beyond  the 
influences  that  operate  so  adversely,  and  it  can  be  done. 
I  am  glad  to  observe  in  the  Freeman,  dated  6th  April, 
in  a  paragraph  referring  to  the  work  of  the  Episcopal, 
Presbyterian,  Congregational,  and  Wesleyan  Societies 
in  Africa,  that  the  Baptists,  who  were  also  taking  part 
in  the  evangelization  of  the  country,  would  work  from 
their  own  base  on  the  western  side.  It  is  cheering  to 
one  who  longs  to  get  inland  to  know  that  the  sympathy 
of  the  Society  runs  in  that  direction  too.  But  if  any- 
thing great  is  to  be  accomplished,  very  considerable  aid 
must  come  from  home. 

'  I  send  with  this  a  portion  of  chart,  to  which  I  have 
affixed  a  rude  sketch.  These  may  help  you  to  under- 
stand what  I  have  already  done  in  the  way  of  visiting 
the  neighbouring  people.  I  have  been  up  all  the 
branches  of  the  river  as  far  as  a  boat  can  go,  excepting 


Avenues  into  the  Country    S3 

the  one  running  due  north,  which  flows  into  the 
Mordecai  Creek.  All  the  places  marked  and  named 
with  pen  I  have  visited.  Endokoko,  Endokombwang, 
Dibongo,  and  Edea  have  not  been  visited  by  any  other 
white  man.  The  Lungasi  towns  had  never  before  been 
visited  by  a  white  man.  Mr.  Comber  accompanied  me 
on  my  second  journey  a  fortnight  ago.  We  then  visited 
some  other  places  than  those  I  first  saw. 

'The  rivers  running  north  to  Abo  and  north-east 
to  Endokobele  are  capital  avenues  into  the  country  ; 
but  the  people  on  the  banks  are  very  numerous,  and 
very  jealous  about  allowing  communication  with  the 
tribes  beyond.  So  great  are  the  difficulties  in  these 
directions  that  I  doubt  whether  a  small  cortege  would 
be  able  to  pass.  At  the  present  time  the  Dido  town 
difficulty  stops  the  way  of  everybody.  No  trade  has 
been  carried  on  in  these  rivers  for  nearly  three  months. 

'  The  river  running  to  Edea  is  a  splendid  water-way, 
but  the  Qua-Qua,  which  connects  it  with  our  river,  is 
full  of  shoals,  quite  impassable  in  the  dry  season  by 
the  steamer,  and  only  to  be  navigated  by  a  boat  with 
difficulty.  The  Borea,  when  once  reached,  affords  a 
four-fathom  channel  right  away  up  to  the  falls.  I  made 
the  attempt  to  pass  the  bar  at  Malimba,  thinking  to 
find  a  way  for  the  steamer  by  going  round  outside,  but 
even  in  the  best  season  the  surf  was  such  as  to  render 
the  thing  impossible.  This  left  the  Dibamba  branch  to 
be  tried. 

*  This  branch  I  find  is  navigable  by  the  steamer,  as 
far  as  the  beach  which  leads  to  the  Lungasi  towns,  for 
eight  months  during  the  year.  The  people  at  Yansoki, 
Bwang,  Yapoma,  and  the  Dibamba  towns  do  not  seem 
so  prejudiced  against  our  advances  inland,  and  even 
though  they  were  inclined  to  stop  us,  an  expedition  of  a 


84  At  the  Camepoons 

dozen  people  would  overawe  the  simple  population  of 
the  largest  town  we  should  pass.  On  my  first  journey, 
at  several  places  the  people  all  fled,  leaving  their  food 
in  the  process  of  being  cooked,  their  guns,  their  matchets, 
all  to  the  tender  mercies  of  us  invaders,  which  did  not 
prove  so  very  cruel  after  all.  There  is  another  advantage 
about  this  route — that  is,  in  the  case  of  any  difficulty 
with  King  Akvva,  or  King  Bell  (not  at  all  a  remote 
contingency  if  we  attempt  to  go  eastward),  we  can  reach 
Dibamba  from  Victoria  without  their  being  at  all 
acquainted  with  our  movements.  These  dignitaries 
have  just  compelled  us  to  withdraw  our  teachers  from 
Kalaki.  They  say  that  the  teachers  spoiled  their  trade ; 
they  are  afraid  of  the  country  people's  eyes  being 
opened. 

'  I  am  taking  steps  to  procure  some  Kroomen  for 
carriers,  so  that  when  the  dry  season  opens,  I  may 
be  able  to  make  a  journey  without  depending  upon 
Cameroons  men,  who  are  so  likely  to  disappoint  one. 
Even  in  a  short  journey,  such  as  those  I  have  already 
made,  the  bugbears  they  have  conjured  up  as  excuses 
for  not  going  further  have  proved  them  the  possessors 
of  wonderfully  fertile  imaginations.  Six  Kroomen  will 
cost  for  hire  during  one  year — wages  about  £4S,  food 
a  similar  sum,  passages  from  their  home  (about  1,200 
miles  distant),  and  back  again,  about  ;^30.  All  the 
hard  work  on  this  part  of  the  coast  is  performed  by 
these  men  ;  they  work  all  the  cargo  and  boats  in  the  oil 
trade.  There  are  about  120  of  them  in  our  river,  all 
engaged  for  one  year.  I  think  if  I  can  succeed  in 
getting  these  men  and  stores,  1  shall,  with  two  Dualla 
men  whom  I  can  trust,  make  an  attempt  to  leave  here 
in  October  next,  and  go  eastwards.  At  present  the 
rainy    season    precludes    the    possibility   of    travelling. 


Reg*apded  as  a  Marvel        85 

September  generally  sees  the  end  of  the  heaviest  rains. 
I  shall  also  try  to  get  a  couple  of  asses  from  TenerifFe  ; 
they  will  cost  about  £30,  together  with  passage  here. 
There  are  four  at  Victoria  rendering  very  valuable 
assistance  to  those  going  up  to  our  Mission  station  at 
Bonjongo.  They  are  very  fine  animals,  not  at  all  like 
the  despised  donkey  of  England. 

*  The  journeys  I  have  already  made  this  year  have 
more  than  exhausted  my  allowance  for  this  object,  and 
if  I  am  to  go  farther  I  must  have  the  assurance  that  my 
drafts  to  cover  the  expense  will  be  honoured.  At 
present  I  know  our  Society  is  not  in  a  position  to 
authorize  increased  expenditure,  but  I  hope  something 
will  be  done  by  ourselves  as  well  as  the  other  sections 
of  the  Church  in  this  work.  At  present  it  would  be 
rash  to  get  together  large  sums  of  money  and  fit  out 
expeditions,  even  though  we  were  able  to  do  it.  What 
is  wanted  is  a  small  sum  to  cover  a  pioneering  effort,  so 
that  we  may  learn  something  of  what  is  beyond,  and 
what  steps  it  will  be  best  to  take.  We  have  no  beaten 
path  or  caravan  route  here,  as  they  have  on  the  eastern 
coast.  With  my  poor  achievements,  I  am  regarded 
quite  as  a  marvel  by  the  Cameroons  men,  because  I 
have  been  so  far  beyond  where  they  would  not  think  of 
going,  so  that  we  cannot  expect  guides  from  these 
people.  In  my  two  last  journeys  the  paths  were  so 
indistinct  in  many  places  that  I  had  to  "  blaze "  the 
trees,  to  mark  our  route,  and  to  guide  us  coming  back. 
I  thus  marked  about  twenty  miles  myself. 

'  Mr.  Comber,  who  is  now  staying  with  me  for  awhile, 
has  made  a  journey  on  the  north-eastern  side  of  the 
mountain,  reaching  a  place  named  Bakundu.  He  did 
at  one  time  think  of  settling  there,  but  hearing  of  the 
possible  opening  of  the  Lungasi  country  he  accompanied 


86  At  the  Camepoons 

me  during  my  last  journey ;  but  as  we  did  not  find  a 
town  large  enough  to  settle  down  in,  he  is  divided 
between  the  idea  of  reverting  to  Bakundu,  and  going  on 
beyond  Lungasi  and  trying  in  that  direction  again. 

•  The  head  men  in  the  river  are  anxious  to  be  under 
Her  Majesty's  control  ;  they  are  waiting  only  for  King 
Bell's  sanction  and  co-operation  to  petition  the  English 
Government  to  be  included  in  the  British  realm.  They 
are  evidently  getting  tired  of  their  attempts  to  govern 
themselves.  Every  dispute  leads  to  war,  and  often 
great  loss  of  life.  They  think  that  if  the  strong  hand  of 
our  law  were  to  interfere,  they  would  be  freed  from  the 
necessity  of  going  to  war  to  punish  a  murderer  or  a 
thief.  If  it  were  not  for  the  terrorism  of  the  secret 
societies  the  old  customs  would  not  enthral  so  com- 
pletely the  thoughtful  men  around  us.  They  are  afraid 
to  forsake  or  expose  the  absurdities  of  their  heathenish 
fashions.  One  man  was  bold  enough,  two  or  three 
weeks  since,  to  ridicule  the  famous  "Moonge"  fashion. 
At  night  his  house  was  surrounded  and  burnt,  and  he 
himself  paid  the  penalty  with  his  life.  Tim  Akwa 
(virtually  king  of  our  town,  his  father  being  so  old  and 
infirm)  is  accounted  a  very  bold  man,  because  he  comes 
to  chapel  twice  every  Sunday  and  sometimes  wears 
a  shirt.  The  prejudice  against  adopting  anything  like 
the  habits  of  civilized  countries,  is  jealously  fostered 
by  the  Ngambi  men  or  witch-doctors.  This  state  of 
affairs  would  be  quite  altered  upon  British  occupation. 
Civilization  would  be  at  a  premium  then,  and  the 
people  not  afraid  of  mending  their  habits.' 

In  August  Grenfell  complains  that '  the  rains  get  into 
one's  system,  and  wash  out  the  energy,'  also  that  he  is 
dreadfully  hard  up  for  news  of  Heneage  Street.  The 
same  letter  contains  a  snake  story.     A  girl  of  the  house- 


Ti  Sy 

hold  was  frightfully  scared  when  she  entered  the  dining- 
room  one  morning,  and  encountered  a  snake  nine  feet 
long.  It  was  dead.  Grenfell  had  shot  it  at  midnight, 
but  with  scant  consideration  for  other  people's  feelings, 
had  left  it  where  it  lay.  There  follows  a  pretty  sketch 
of  Ti,  who  was  his  wife's  favourite  boy.  Ti  is  a  gallant 
youth,  accompanies  Grenfell  in  his  travels,  is  proud  of 
his  ability  to  walk  with  the  men,  and  often  leads  the 
caravan.  *  He  is  rejoiced  by  the  dignity  of  being  ranked 
with  his  elders  in  work,  ...  I  sincerely  trust  he  will 
grow  up  a  good  lad.  I  am  very  hopeful  of  him.  He 
sets  our  pulpit  in  order  every  Sunday,  carries  the  big 
Bible,  rings  the  bell,  etc' 

It  was  Ti  whom  Grenfell  re-named  John  Greenhough, 
conferring  the  honour  piece-meal.  Ti  was  simply  John, 
until  he  had  proved  himself  to  be  '  a  good  John,'  and  so 
not  unworthy  to  bear  the  second  name.  Ti  appreciated 
his  honour  and  claimed  it.  '  It  was  very  hard  even  for 
me,  who  had  redubbed  him,  to  forget  his  "  long  time  " 
soubriquet,  and  even  harder  for  his  companions.  If  I 
miscalled  him,  "  Please,  Sah,  my  name  be  John,"  was 
the  response  ;  if  anybody  else,  they  got  no  response 
at  all.' 

In  one  of  the  letters  of  this  period  Grenfell  speaks 
with  enthusiasm  of  Dumbi's  efficiency  as  a  tailor.  The 
Rev.  J.  J.  Fuller  gives  an  amusing  account  of  Dumbi's 
apprenticeship.  The  reader  will  remember  that  this  boy 
was  the  genius  whose  intelligence  and  practical  efficiency 
consoled  his  schoolmaster  in  the  trouble  occasioned  by 
dull  and  refractory  pupils. 

One  day  Grenfell  said  to  Mr.  Fuller,  'You  have 
carpenters,  bricklayers,  brickmakers,  and  printers  ;  have 
you  a  tailor.?'  Mr.  Fuller  confessed  they  had  not. 
Whereupon  Grenfell  said  :  '  We  must  have  one.'     So  he 


88  At  the  Cameroons 

had  a  suit  of  his  clothes  ripped  up,  and  Dumbi  was  set 
to  put  them  together  again.  A  sewing  machine  was 
procured  from  England ;  Grenfell  taught  Dumbi  how 
to  use  it  ;  and  in  a  few  months  the  Mission  possessed  a 
tailor,  who  instructed  others  in  his  craft,  and  made  clothes 
which  traders,  as  well  as  Mission  people,  were  glad  to  buy. 
And  here  I  crave  indulgence  for  a  slight  digression 
in  appreciation  of  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Fuller,  whose  story  is  a 
romance  which  ought  to  be  told  in  picturesque  detail. 
Born  a  slave  in  Jamaica,  he  was  included  in  the  Charter 
of  Emancipation.  He  was  present  at  the  historic  funeral 
ceremony  when  William  Knibb  buried  the  insignia  of 
slavery,  and  hoisted  the  Union  Jack  for  monument. 
Acquiring  education,  he  joined  Mr.  Saker,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  and  served  for 
forty  years  in  the  Cameroons.  Thousands  of  Baptists  in 
England  have  made  his  acquaintance,  as  a  most  welcome 
deputation  from  the  Society,  and  have  been  inspired 
by  his  skilled  advocacy  to  more  intense  interest  in 
Missionary  work.  I  well  remember  a  visit  which  he 
paid  me  in  my  own  house  some  twenty  years  ago. 
As  he  entered  the  room,  my  two  little  girls,  who  had 
never  seen  a  coloured  man  before,  clasped  hands,  and 
backed,  and  backed,  till  they  were  hard  against  the 
wall.  Ten  minutes  later,  they  were  sitting  on  his  knees, 
with  his  arms  about  them,  listening  to  stories  with  which 
he  beguiled  their  attention,  and  answering  the  call  of 
the  man's  big  heart  with  confidence  and  love. 

The  relations  of  Mr.  Fuller  with  Grenfell  and 
Comber  were  ideal.  He  was  old  enough  to  be  their 
father,  genial  enough  to  be  their  chum,  man  enough  to 
command  their  respect,  and  Christian  enough  to  elicit 
their  profound  spiritual  affection.  They  wrote  to  him 
some  of  their  best  letters.     Now  he  is  '  Dear  Daddy 


Viang'a  Viang-a  89 

Fuller/  now  'Dear  Old  Boy,'  but  always  it  is  evident 
that  they  know  he  would  do  anything  possible  for  them, 
and  that  they  would  do  anything  possible  for  him.  Mrs. 
Fuller  was  like-minded,  and  as  opportunity  served, 
played  mother  to  them  both. 

Some  months  ago  it  was  my  privilege  to  take  tea 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fuller  in  their  home  in  Stoke 
Newington.  Mrs.  and  Miss  Grenfell  were  also  their 
guests.  To  them,  Mr.  Fuller  was  '  Dadda  Fuller,'  and 
'Grandpa  Fuller,'  as  of  old.  And  many  good  stories 
were  told  which  space  limits  exclude.  But  one  must 
not  be  omitted. 

Mr.  Fuller  was  present  when  Grenfell  and  Comber 
received  the  letter  from  the  Committee  inviting  them  to 
proceed  to  the  Congo.  Comber  looked  over  Grenfell's 
shoulder  as  he  read  the  momentous  missive,  and  when 
the  gist  of  it  was  mastered,  threw  up  his  hat,  and 
danced  like  an  excited  schoolboy.  The  incident  was 
characteristic.  Irrepressible  and  inexhaustible  vitality 
was  part  of  Comber's  charm,  and  an  element  of  his 
personality  in  no  small  degree  contributive  to  his 
influence  and  his  success.  ♦  Vianga  Vianga,'  the  Congo 
natives  called  him,  which  being  interpreted,  signifies 
'  always  on  the  go.'  He  was  young  when  he  died.  But 
into  his  brief  life,  he  crammed  more  than  the  content  of 
a  hundred  lethargic  years. 

Mr.  Fuller  attained  the  ripe  age  of  fourscore  and 
three  years,  and  passed  peacefully  away  on  December  1 1, 
1908,  shortly  before  this  work  went  to  the  press.  He 
also  had  lived  strenuously,  and  has  now  rejoined  his 
friends  Grenfell  and  Comber  in  the  timeless  region, 
where  parting  and  age  and  pain  and  death  are  known 
no  more. 


THE  CONGO  MISSION, 

SOUTH  WEST  AFRICA. 

Sketch  Map  shewing  early  Operations 

OP     THE 

BAPTiST  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 

REFERENCE. 
pioneerjo.ufMy  1S73.. 
Affampteit  fouus  xo  Stanley  Poi?l:.. 
Bendeys  route  to  San.  SalvadoY.- 

PrpJ)osea  nJw  r^ute  to  Stanley  Pool —  - 

R^ach  traversed  ly  H^  'PLYMOUTH'... . 

PouJte  fifthe  L  ivin^ctme.  Inland  Mtjsu>r^  . ~~      j'| 

Sc^ris..^ ,Z<7....-„.-^.^.....<^.-^e?^^f^^^l3. 

^     o 


CHAPTER   V 

PIONEERING  ON    THE    LOWER 
CONGO 

Discovery  of  the  Congo— Mr.  Stanley's  Journey— San  Salvador- 
Mr.  Arthington's  Offer— 'Africa  for  Christ'— Mr.  Arthington's 
Letter— Starting  of  the  Congo  Mission— Decision  of  Grenfell 
and  Comber— Spying  out  the  Land— Description  of  the  Country 
—Grenfell  and  his  Boat— A  Jesuit  Priest— Jack  the  Donkey- 
Reception  at  San  Salvador— Arrival  at  Makuta— Grenfell's 
Second  Marriage— Reinforcements— Chain  of  Stations— Native 
Houses— Difficulties  of  Transport— Romish  Opposition— Isangila 
— Manyanga— The  Basundi. 

FOR  a  full  account  of  earlier  European  explorations, 
settlements,  and  missions  in  the  region  of  the 
Lower  Congo,  and  for  the  history  of  the  Ancient 
Kingdom  of  Kongo  and  related  native  powers,  the 
reader  must  be  referred  to  the  chapters  of  Sir  Harry 
Johnston's  work,  in  which  he  has  treated  these  subjects 
with  adequate  learning  and  in  vivid  narrative. 

It  may  suffice  here  to  quote  the  opening  paragraphs 
of  an  article  written  by  Grenfell  during  his  stay  in 
England  in  1882. 

'"Tuckey's  farthest,  1816,"  a  point  less  than  200 
miles  from  the  sea-coast  along  the  course  of  the  River 
Congo,  marked,  up  till  five  years  ago,  the  limit  of  our 
knowledge  of  the  country  through  which  that  great  river 
flows.  Discovered  so  far  back  as  the  fifteenth  century, 
all  that  was  known  up  till  very  recently  was  that,  on 


92  On  the  Lo'wep  Cong*o 

account  of  its  immense  volume,  it  ranked  amongst  the 
greatest  rivers  of  the  world ;  and  also  that,  after  a 
navigable  course  of  about  a  hundred  miles,  it  entered 
upon  a  cataract  region  where  further  progress  was 
effectually  barred,  which  so  bristled  with  difficulties 
that  none  of  the  attempts  made  to  penetrate  the 
mysteries  of  the  Upper  Congo  had  been  successful. 

•  In  September,  1877,  news  reached  England  that  Mr. 
Henry  M.  Stanley,  who  had  started  from  Zanzibar  on 
the  East  Coast,  had  made  his  way  across  the  continent 
and  down  the  course  of  this  river,  proving  it  to  be  the 
same  stream  as  the  Lualaba,  about  which  geographers 
had  been  greatly  exercised,  and  near  the  source  of 
which  Dr.  Livingstone  died. 

'  So  far  back  as  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  San 
Salvador,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Kongo,  was  a 
walled  city,  and  could  boast  of  its  cathedral  and  seven 
other  churches.  It  was  the  see  of  a  bishop  (at  one  time 
filled  by  a  native),  and  till  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century  the  rites  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  were 
regularly  maintained.  So  far  back  as  250  years  ago  the 
country  was  partially  civilized,  and  had  become  nominally 
Christian.  But  after  the  transference  of  the  see  to  St. 
Paul  de  Loanda,  and  after  the  removal  of  the  military 
force  of  the  Portuguese  Government,  the  churches  fell 
into  ruins,  and  the  people  lapsed  into  barbarism  ;  for, 
while  the  rites  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  are  well 
calculated  to  appeal  to  the  native  mind,  they  very 
evidently  fail  to  accomplish  the  real  changes  of  heart 
and  life  which  characterize  a  vital  Christianity. 

'  Looking  back  upon  what  San  Salvador  had  been,  and 
contemplating  the  few,  but  interesting,  remains  of  a  past 
civilization,  Mr.  Arthington's  great  heart  was  moved  with 
sympathy  for  the  people,  and  he   generously  offered  a 


'Africa  for  Christ'  93 

considerable  sum,  if  our  Society  would  undertake  mission 
work  in  this  sphere,  so  long  deserted  by  the  Papal 
Church. 

'  While  our  Society  was  consulting  the  Churches  about 
entering  this  field  of  labour,  the  news  reached  England 
of  how  Stanley  had  crossed  the  continent,  and  had  found 
the  Congo  to  be  an  immense  waterway  into  the  heart  of 
Africa.  This  news  settled  the  question  of  the  Congo 
Mission,  for  not  only  did  the  needs  of  the  people  of  the 
Kongo  kingdom  appeal  to  us,  but  we  felt  the  claims 
of  the  millions  of  the  great  central  plateau  ;  and  our 
Churches,  true  to  their  traditions  as  pioneers  in  great 
and  good  works,  immediately  took  up  the  cause  with 
zeal,  and  "  Africa  for  Christ  "  became  the  watchword  of 
the  Society.' 

The  letter  of  Mr.  Arthington,  referred  to  above,  is 
so  important  a  document  in  the  records  of  the  Baptist 
Mission,  and  so  determining  a  factor  in  the  evolution 
of  Grenfell's  character  and  career,  that  it  must  be  given 
in  full— 

'Dear  Sirs  and  Brethren, 

'  I  trust  the  time  has  come  when  the  Christian 
Church  must  put  forth  far  greater  efforts  to  preach  the 
Gospel  in  all  the  world.  "  All  that  the  Father  giveth 
Me  shall  come  to  Me  ;  and  him  that  cometh  to  Me  I 
will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 

'  These  words  of  Jesus,  in  connection  with  His  com- 
mand, to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature,  are  very  encouraging.  If  each  section  of 
the  Christian  Church  would  do  its  part  in  the  energy  of 
true  faith,  we  might  make  great  advances  in  our  day  in 
extending  the  knowledge  of  saving  truth  throughout  the 
world.     There  is  a  part  of  Africa,  not  too  far,  I  think, 


94  On  the  Lovrep  Cong^o 

from  places  where  you  have  stations,  on  which  I  have 
long  had  my  eye,  with  very  strong  desire  that  the  bless- 
ing of  the  Gospel  might  be  given  to  it.  It  is  the  Congo 
country — an  old  kingdom ;  once  possessed,  indeed,  is 
now,  of  a  measure  of  civilization,  and  to  a  limited  extent 
instructed  in  the  externals  of  the  Christian  religion. 

'  Within  three  hundred  years  it  appears  that  Romanish 
missions,  in  connection  with  Portugal,  gave  the  people  of 
Congo  some  information  of  the  Christian  religion,  so 
as  to  have  left  permanent  traces  existing  there  at  the 
present  day. 

*In  Livingstone's  time  (see  p.  426  of  the  1857  edition 
of  his  travels),  the  Prince  of  Kongo  was  professedly  a 
Christian,  and  report  said  there  were  some  churches  there 
kept  in  partial  repair,  and  that  many  of  the  inhabitants 
could  read  and  write.  There  is  not,  however,  much 
knowledge  of  the  Christian  religion  in  Congo.  In  the 
last  lines  of  Chapter  21,  Livingstone  speaks  either  of 
Congo,  or  of  Congo  written  Angola,  as  "  a  fine  missionary 
field." 

'  Commander  Grandy,  who  was  sent  out  under  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society  of  England  to  explore 
the  Congo  River,  in  answer  to  a  letter  from  me,  in  a 
communication  dated  "  131,  Ladbrooke  Grove,  Notting 
Hill,  W.,  December  22,  1874,"  writes — 

' "  Only  three  or  four  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Congo,  the 
San  Salvador  of  the  Portuguese,  can  read  and  write.  The  King's 
secretary  and  two  of  his  sons,  I  know,  can  speak  and  write 
Portuguese.  The  inhabitants  of  Congo  are  partly  Christianized, 
and  follow  the  doctrines  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church; 
but  the  King  of  Kongo,  hearing  I  held  service  on  Sundays, 
attended  twice,  remained  the  whole  time,  and  showed  much 
attention.  He  afterwards  told  me  he  came  from  motives  of 
curiosity  the  first  time,  as  he  had  been  told  we  knew  nothing 


Imperishable  Letters  95 

about  religion,  but  now  that  he  saw  us  reading  from  books  and 
praying  and  singing  he  was  convinced  ours  was  a  good  religion. 

' "  At  several  of  the  native  towns  where  we  remained  on 
Sundays,  and  service  was  read,  the  natives  attended,  squatting 
in  a  circle,  and  remaining  always  quiet  and  observant. 

' "  The  language  of  the  Court  of  Kongo  is  the  original 
African,  Muxicongo.  There  is  also  a  secret  language,  called 
Enkimba,  employed  by  the  chiefs.  Portuguese  is  employed 
only  in  dealing  with  the  factories  ^  on  the  river,  and  in  corre- 
spondence with  the  Governor  of  Loanda,  or  the  Chiefs  of 
Bembe,  or  Ambriz. 

' "  The  old  king  strongly  expressed  his  hopes  to  me  that 
some  English  (white  men)  would  come  to  them." 

*  It  is,  therefore,  a  great  satisfaction  and  a  high  and 
sacred  pleasure  to  me  to  offer  one  thousand  pounds,  if 
the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  v^ill  undertake  at  once  to 
visit  these  benighted,  interesting  people  with  the  blessed 
light  of  the  Gospel,  teach  them  to  read  and  write,  and 
give  them  in  imperishable  letters  the  words  of  eternal 
truth.  By-and-by,  possibly,  we  may  be  able  to  extend 
the  mission  eastwards  on  the  Congo,  at  a  point  above  the 
rapids. 

'  But,  however  that  may  be,  I  hope  that  soon  we  shall 
have  a  steamer  on  the  Congo,  if  it  should  be  found 
requisite,  and  carry  the  Gospel  eastwards,  and  south  and 
north  of  the  river,  as  the  way  may  open,  as  far  as  Nyangwe. 
The  London  Missionary  Society  take  twenty  miles  west 
of  Lake  Tanganyika. 

'  Yours  in  the  Lord, 

'Robert  Arthington.' 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  replying  to  inquiries  from  the 
Committee   as   to    the    advisability   of  sending    out   a 

*  Trading  establishments  are  called  factories. 


96  On  the  Lower  Congo 

preliminary  party  to  explore  the  region  referred  to,  Mr. 
Arthington  wrote — 

'  It  is  to  the  King  of  Kongo,  and  the  existing  com- 
munities of  the  ancient  Christian  Romanish  civilization, 
now  decayed,  at  San  Salvador,  of  the  country  called 
Kongo,  that  I  have  so  long  and  so  strongly  desired  to 
send,  in  all  its  life-giving  freshness,  the  Word  of  God, 
and  to  give  them  in  their  own  tongue,  never  to  be 
forgotten,  the  words  of  Jesus  and  His  Apostles. 

'Then,  besides  that,  I  want  to  be  on  the  Congo 
River  by-and-by  (when  we  get  the  intelligent  interest 
and  co-operation  of  the  King  of  Kongo),  above  the 
rapids,  and  sail  the  messengers  of  the  everlasting  Gospel 
on  the  mighty  river  up  as  far  as  Nyangwe. 

'  Does  not  God  call  us  by  His  providential  indica- 
tions to  attempt  great  things  for  His  Christ  and  the 
Gospel  ? 

'  God  is  over  all,  and  we  may  depend  upon  it  He 
intends  now  to  open  out  Africa  to  Christian  evangeliza- 
tion. Think  of  the  thousands  of  souls  come  across  by 
Cameron,  west  of  Tanganyika.  Are  these  to  live  and 
die  without  the  knowledge  of  the  all-precious  Gospel  ^ 
Nay,  hardly  so.  In  my  opinion,  it  would  be  wise,  with- 
out delay,  to  send  a  man,  most  prayerfully  chosen,  full 
of  faith  and  love,  who  will  determinately  make  his  way 
to  the  King  of  Kongo,  and  ask  him  if  he  would  receive 
and  encourage  your  Christian  missionaries  ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  he  should  make  all  needful  enquiries.  If  you 
find  the  man  and  inform  me,  I  intend  at  once  to  send 
you  fifty  pounds  to  encourage  you.' 

Mr.  Arthington's  challenge  appealed  to  hearts  that 
were  prepared.  In  his  concise  history  of  the  Congo 
Mission,  entitled  T/ie  Congo  for  Christ,  the  Rev.  J.  B. 
Myers  writes : — 


The  Question  Settled  97 

'  The  labours  of  other  Societies  whose  representatives 
had  entered  from  the  East  Coast — those  of  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland  Mission  on  Lake  Nyassa,  the  Church 
Missionary  Society's  Mission  in  Uganda,  and  the  ex- 
pedition sent  out  by  London  Missionary  Society  to 
Lake  Tanganyika — had  awakened  the  interest  of  the 
Christian  Church  generally  in  the  evangelization  of 
Africa. 

'  For  a  long  time  the  conviction  had  been  strengthen- 
ing in  the  minds  of  the  supporters  of  the  Baptist  Society, 
as  the  result  of  experience  at  coast  stations,  that  their 
true  policy,  wherever  practicable,  was  to  penetrate  into 
the  interior,  where  the  Gospel  might  be  preached  un- 
hindered by  the  hostile  influence  of  demoralizing  traders. 
The  opinion  strongly  expressed  by  many,  pre-eminently 
by  Dr.  Livingstone,  who  was  continuously  calling  upon 
missionaries  '  to  leave  the  unhealthy,  fever-stricken,  trade- 
cursed  tribes  on  the  coast,'  created  a  readiness  to  embrace 
any  favourable  opportunity  for  work  in  inland  regions. 
In  pursuance  of  this  desire,  special  journeys  at  this  very 
time  were  being  made  from  the  Cameroons  stations,  to 
ascertain  if  it  were  possible  to  enter  the  interior  from 
that  part  of  Western  Africa.' 

The  publication  of  Mr.  Arthington's  letters,  and  the 
almost  simultaneous  announcement  of  Stanley's  sensa- 
tional achievement,  as  Grenfell  puts  it,  'settled  the 
question  of  the  Congo  Mission.'  Upon  consideration, 
it  was  decided  by  the  Committee  that  Providence  had 
elected  and  equipped  the  pioneers  of  the  new  enterprise, 
in  the  persons  of  Grenfell  and  Comber,  who  were  doing 
such  distinguished  work  at  Cameroons,  and  panting  to 
find  their  way  from  the  coast  to  the  interior  of  Africa. 
In  due  course  an  invitation  was  despatched  to  them  to 
take  up  this  work.     Reference  has  been  already  made 

H 


98  On  the  Low^ep  Cong*© 

to  the  enthusiasm  with  which  they  received  what  was  to 
them  their  Master's  summons  to  go  forward.  It  was  in 
the  afternoon  of  January  5,  1878,  that  the  great,  but  not 
wholly  unexpected  news,  arrived.  In  the  evening  of  the 
same  day  Grenfell  wrote  the  following  reply  : — 

'Yours  of  the  15th  November  is  to  hand  by  the  s.s. 
"  Congo,"  which  arrived  this  afternoon.  You  will  have 
learned  from  my  letter  of  the  i6th  ult.,  that  the  topic  of 
your  communication,  which  I  have  just  received,  is  not 
before  me  for  the  first  time,  and  so  I  may,  without 
apparent  rashness,  venture  at  once  to  reply. 

'You  will  also  have  gathered  that  I  am  deeply 
interested  in  this  matter  of  the  Congo  Mission,  and  that 
I  am  not  only  willing  to  comply  with  the  Committee's 
request,  but  that  I  am  eager  to  go,  and  shall  be  very 
happy  to  be  associated  with  Mr.  Comber  in  the  work. 
The  decision  of  the  Committee  to  undertake  this  new 
effort  we  feel  to  be  the  right  one,  and  pray  most  earnestly 
that  it  may  prove  to  be  so.  God  seems  to  hold  out  far 
more  glorious  prospects  of  success  there  than  appear  to 
be  possible  here.  The  difficulties  there  may,  indeed, 
appear  less  because  they  are  farther  off  than  those  by 
which  we  are  surrounded  here.  However,  if  I  stayed 
here  I  should  never  give  up  trying  to  open  a  way  for 
the  Gospel ;  and  though  the  difficulties  there  may,  on 
closer  acquaintance,  prove  even  greater  than  those  at 
Cameroons,  I  should  still  try,  for  the  victory  is  sure.  It 
may  not,  perhaps,  be  in  my  time ;  but  I  hope,  as  long  as 
I  have  breath,  God  will  count  me  worthy  to  fight,  and  to 
help  in  the  bringing  about  of  that  good  time  which  is  so 
surely  coming. 

'  From  the  Herald,  I  had  thought  the  intention  of  the 
Committee  was  to  send  a  pioneering  party  to  San 
Salvador,  which,  after  accomplishing  its  purpose,  was  to 


Pioneers  Commissioned        99 

await,  at  Cameroons  or  elsewhere,  a  reply  to  the  report 
sent  home.  From  your  letter  I  gather  that  those  who 
go  should  be  prepared  to  settle  down  at  once,  and  that 
It  is  wished,  in  case  the  work  should  give  promise  of 
success,  that  operations  should  be  immediately  com- 
menced. This  latter  I  conceive  to  be  the  better  plan 
and  I  should  be  quite  prepared  to  adopt  it. 

'I  cannot  but  think  it  very  kind  that  the  Committee 
thought  well  to  consider  my  wishes  in  this  matter  of 
joining  the  "  Congo  Expedition."  They  will  have  learned 
ere  this  that  their  wish  quite  accords  with  my  own,  and 
that  I  shall  enter  into  the  work  with  all  my  heart. 

'I  sincerely  pray,  and  rely  upon  the  prayers  of  those 
at  home,  that  God's  blessing  may  be  given  us  who  go 
and  that  it  may  attend  our  every  effort  in  this  new  work' 
It  is  a  special  work,  needing  special  abilities,  which 
God  alone  can  bestow.  We  ask  your  prayers,  that  these 
gitts  may  be  ours.' 

Comber  wrote  the  day  following,  saying  that  he  had 
read  Mr.  Baynes'  important  letter  with  Grenfell ;  that  so 
long  as  he  might  work  among  the  'real  heathen'  he  did 
not  mind  whether  it  was  in  Congo  or  the  interior  of  the 
Cameroons;  that  he  was  sorry  to  forego  settlement  in 
Bakundu,  for  which  he  had  made  preparations  ;  but  that 
now  he  threw  his  whole  heart  into  the  Congo  Mission 
His  letter  concludes  with  the  words  :  '  I  am  not  my  own 
nor  am  I  out  here  for  my  own  purposes  and  ends  ;  and  in 
all  my  movements,  especially  in  such  a  deeply  important 
one  as  I    feel  this  to   be,   I    look   up  to   our  gracious 
Master  to  fulfil  His  promise,  "I  will  guide  thee  with 
Mine  eye,"  and  to  make  all  things  work  together  for  the 
everlasting  good  of  souls  and  His  own  eternal  day.' 

A  few  days  later  the  s.s.  «Elmina'  called  at  Came- 
roons, bound  for  the  Congo,  and  Grenfell  and  Comber 


loo        On  the  Louver  Cong'O 

seized  the  opportunity  of  paying  a  flying  visit  to  the 
threshold  of  their  new  sphere  of  service. 

As  to  this,  Grenfell  writes :  '  Some  of  our  friends  in 
England  will  perhaps  think  we  went  off  on  a  wild-goose 
chase,  but  you  know  I  should  not  enter  into  such  a  work 
as  the  projected  one  on  the  Congo  by  halves,  and  so,  as 
soon  as  the  request  of  the  Committee  was  laid  before  us, 
and  while  they  were  waiting  for  our  reply,  upon  a  steamer 
opportunely  **  turning  up,"  we  took  passage  to  the  Congo 
with  the  intention  of  utilizing  the  interim  that  would 
necessarily  elapse  before  receiving  definite  instructions, 
by  spying  out  the  land,  and  learning  what  facilities  could 
be  relied  on  for  aiding  us  to  attain  the  object  aimed  at 
by  the  Committee.  Well,  eight  days'  passage  brought 
us  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  that  has  so  recently  yielded 
up  its  mystery.  It  was  not  with  feelings  of  overweening 
confidence  that  we  went  ashore,  for  as  there  were  only 
three  houses  at  the  landing-point — Banana — and  neither 
of  them  English,  it  would  have  been  too  bold  a  stroke 
to  have  made  sure  of  a  welcome  reception.  One  trading 
house  was  French,  one  Dutch,  the  other  Portuguese.  Of 
Dutch  and  Portuguese  neither  of  us  knew  a  word,  and 
while  we  both  knew  enough  French  to  keep  us  from 
starving,  it  was  not  very  likely  that  we  could  make  our 
object  in  visiting  the  place  satisfactorily  evident. 

'These  fears  about  our  reception  did  not  last  long, 
for  I  discovered  that  there  was  an  English  doctor  engaged 
by  the  Dutch  firm,  which  has  nearly  fifty  European 
employees  at  that  one  place.  This  Dr.  Jones  proved  to 
be  a  gentleman  whose  acquaintance  I  had  made  in  the 
Camcroons  River,  and  he  at  once  gave  me  an  intro- 
duction to  his  chief,  who  received  us  cordially,  and 
entered  fully  into  our  plans.  The  next  day  the  "  Zaire," 
a   small  steamer   (one  of  five  belonging  to  the  Dutch 


THE   ATLANTIC    ASPECT   OF  THE   BEACH   AT   BANANA   POINT, 
CONGO  MOUTH. 


GRENFELL   STARTING   IN   1S78   WITH   FIRST   B.M.S.    MISSION   TO 
SAN    SALVADOR. 


The  Congo  Visited  loi 

Company)  was  at  our  disposal,  and  we  went  up  as  far  as 
Ponta-de-Lehna,  where  we  stayed  all  night,  and  tried 
to  sleep,  but  mosquitoes  in  myriads  made  the  attempt 
abortive.  The  next  day  we  went  on  to  Boma  or  Em- 
bomma,  and  on  the  third  day  reached  Musuko,  where 
our  land  journey  will  commence.  Here  our  Dutch 
friends  have  a  factory  which  we  can  use  as  a  depot  for 
our  stores  and  such  things  as  we  do  not  need  to  take 
with  us,  while  we  make  our  first  run  to  San  Salvador, 
some  eight  days'  journey  to  the  south-east.  So  you  see 
our  way  is  opening  up,  in  God's  providence,  gloriously. 
I  trust  our  sanguine  hopes  will  be  sustained  by  our 
experience.  We  should  have  made  the  attempt  to  reach 
San  Salvador  when  we  were  at  Musuko,  but  the  heaviest 
rains  were  just  commencing ;  so  we  contented  ourselves 
with  writing  to  Dom  Pedro  the  Fifth  (as  the  monarch 
styles  himself,  after  his  Portuguese  patron),  and  with 
obtaining  information  about  carriers,  food  supplies,  and 
goods  needed  for  barter  with  natives.  Thus,  having 
done  as  much  as  we  could,  made  some  friends,  and  in  a 
measure  prepared  the  way,  we  started  to  return,  and 
reached  Cameroons  again  after  little  more  than  a  month's 
absence,' 

The  information  succinctly  given  in  the  foregoing 
extract  from  a  private  letter  is  given  with  greater  detail 
in  official  communications,  from  which  two  additional 
notes  of  interest  may  be  quoted,  *We  learn  here 
(Banana)  that  Father  Bonaventura  made  a  journey  from 
Ambriz  a  year  or  fourteen  months  ago,  to  San  Salvador, 
for  the  purpose  of  "  baptizing  "  and  marrying  some  of 
the  people.  He,  like  Lieutenant  Grandy,  returned  vid 
Embomma.  We  also  hear  that  the  Roman  Catholics 
are  intending  to  reoccupy  San  Salvador.  They  have 
bought  a  fine  site  at  Embomma,  and  will,  it  is  expected. 


I02         On  the  Loiver  Cong^o 

commence  operations  at  an  early  date.  Their  Mission 
at  San  Antonio — close  here — was  broken  up  a  short 
while  ago  in  consequence  of  difficulties  with  the  natives.' 

As  regards  the  aspect  of  the  country,  Grenfell  writes  : 
'  The  country,  so  far  as  we  have  seen  it,  is  very  different 
from  Cameroons — the  interminable  forest  here  gives 
place  to  grass-covered  hills  and  scenery  of  the  most 
picturesque  description.  As  far  as  Embomma  the  river 
is  ascended  by  any  one  of  several  channels  formed 
by  the  many  islands  of  the  lower  reaches.  Beyond 
Embomma  the  river  is  confined  to  one  bed  between 
steep  hills,  and,  as  far  as  Musuko,  averaging  a  quarter 
to  half  a  mile  in  width.  Here,  of  course,  the  current 
runs  very  swiftly.  It  brought  the  "  Zaire "  at  times, 
notwithstanding  her  great  power,  almost  to  a  standstill.' 

Yet  again,  February  3,  *  The  return  mail  steamer 
"  Elmina "  has  just  come  in  here  (Banana),  and  after  a 
stay  of  an  hour  and  a  half  or  so,  will  go  north  again, 
taking  Mr.  Comber  and  myself  back  to  Cameroons.  Mr. 
Comber,  I  am  thankful  to  say,  is  much  better ;  the  small 
ulcers  on  his  legs  and  feet  have  entirely  disappeared. 
This  trip  seems  to  have  done  us  both  much  good.' 

On  returning  to  Cameroons  the  missionaries  were 
well  occupied  during  the  remainder  of  their  stay.  There 
were  additional  journeyings,  preachings,  and  baptisms, 
besides  the  anxious  duty  of  preparing  for  the  mission 
they  were  about  to  undertake.  There  were  also  fare- 
wells to  be  said,  and  as  Grenfell 's  life  was  so  much 
concerned  with  boats  and  travel,  his  feelings  in  relation 
to  the  two  craft  he  was  leaving  behind  are  worthy  of 
record.  Referring  to  a  boat  in  which  he  made  his  second 
journey  to  Edea,  and  of  which  he  was  enclosing  a 
photograph  to  his  correspondent,  the  Rev.  R.  II.  Powell, 
he  says — 


Boats,  well  Beloved  103 

*  I've  lived  many  a  week  and  travelled  some  thousands 
of  miles  in  her,  but  I  suppose  I've  made  my  last  use  of 
her,  as  I  am  going  South,  and  shall  leave  her  here  on 
the  old  beat.     She's  nearly  worn  out,  and  can't  possibly 
serve  as  often  for  a  pulpit  in  the  future  as  she  has  done 
in  the  past.      I've  sailed  and  pulled  across  the  thirty 
miles  of  sea  between  Victoria   and   Fernando  Po,  and 
have  often  been  in  such  close  quarters  that  we  could  not 
use  oars,  but  had  to  use  canoe  paddles;  and  once,   I 
remember,  we  had   to  widen  a  deep  but  very  narrow 
stream  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  to  let  her  pass, 
or  else  go  back  more  than  twenty  miles.     I've  become 
quite  attached  to  her,  and  to  the  steamer  too.    I've  never 
worked  so  hard,  or  got  so  black,  or  perspired  so  much 
as  I  have   done  when  acting  as  engineer  and  general 
utility  man  on  board  our  little  paddle-boat.     It's  a  case 
of  mother's  best  love  for  her  most  troublesome  child  ; 
and  you've  no   idea   how  troublesome  a   high-pressure 
compound  engine  and  boiler  can  prove  to  an  amateur 
engineer.   And  yet  I'm  sorry  to  leave  her.    I  wish  I  could 
take  her  to  the  Congo  ;  but  it  is  impossible,  as  she  is  not 
powerful  enough  for  that  terrific  current.     I'd  steam  her 
all  the  way  down  myself,  if  she  had  but  the  requisite 
power  to  be  of  use  when  she  got  down.     I've  had  to  put 
new  tubes  in  the  boiler,  and  I've  fitted  steering  gear  in 
the  bows,  so  that  when  steering  at  night  the  man  at  the 
wheel  could  see  plainly  where  he  was  going,  a  thing  he 
could  not  possibly  do  when  he  was  astern  and  looking 
ahead  beyond  the  engine  lights.    I  did  this,  after  carrying 
the  mast  away  one  night  against  an  overhanging  branch 
in  one  of  the  creeks.     This  accident  cut  short  the  career 
of  the  first  mast  which  I  fitted :  the  second,  thanks  to 
the  new  steering  apparatus,  is  still  in  use. 

'She  is  a  very  comfortable  craft  to  live  in,  and  is 


I04        On  the  LoAvep  Cong'o 

fitted  up  very  completely  ;  has  a  cook's  galley  (very 
important  item  that)  which  would  be  sure  to  come  into 
requisition  when  on  a  journey,  at  daylight,  for  my  cup  of 
coffee  ;  next  thing  would  be  to  wash  the  deck  and  clean 
the  brass-work  ;  then  breakfast  must  be  thought  about ; 
this  would  sometimes  be  before,  and  sometimes  after, 
reading  and  prayers.  Saturday  was  always  a  busy  day, 
if  spent  on  board.  It's  great  fun  to  see  the  boys  washing 
their  clothes,  beating  them  with  a  spanner,  and  making 
the  soapsuds  fly  about,  in  their  attempts  to  ensure  a 
somewhat  decent  appearance  on  Sunday. 

'  One  night  when  coming  round  from  Victoria  I 
brought  a  sick  man,  a  German  naturalist,  who  came  out 
to  procure  botanical  specimens.  Poor  fellow,  he  only 
lived  a  couple  of  hours,  and  before  I  had  got  one  fourth 
of  the  way  to  Cameroons,  he  was  no  more.  His  friends 
on  board  the  German  ship  in  the  river  were  greatly 
grieved,  when  I  anchored  alongside  next  day  to  deliver 
my  sad  freight  So  you  see  there  are  lovers  of  science 
as  well  as  lovers  of  Christ  willing  to  make  martyrs  of 
themselves  for  their  love.  If  lovers  of  Nature  are  ready 
to  do  so  much,  how  much  more  ought  we  to  be  ready  to 
do  for  God,  to  whom  we  owe  so  great  a  debt ! ' 

On  March  29  the  final  instructions  of  the  Committee 
were  received,  with  ample  stores,  and  it  was  hoped  that 
Grenfell  and  Comber  would  be  able  to  proceed  south  by 
the  same  mail;  but  as  the  'Roquelle'  remained  in  port  but 
a  few  hours,  and  brought  Grenfell  a  big  consignment  of 
business,  a  confessedly  frantic  rush  on  his  part  failed,  and 
with  much  immediate  regret  the  missionaries  resigned 
themselves  to  a  few  weeks  more  of  busy  waiting.  The 
long  wait  diminished  their  band  of  chosen  helpers  ;  but 
Comber  regarded  this  as  akin  to  Gideon's  sifting,  and 
on    June    28    they   left    Cameroons   in  the   s.s.  'Volta,' 


Pere  le  Berre  105 

and  reached  Banana  on  July  4.  The  weather  cooled 
immensely  on  their  voyage  south,  and  the  lower  tem- 
perature proved  bracing. 

'  We  had  a  pleasant,  healthy  passage  down,  and  are 
all  the  better  for  eight  days  on  the  sea.  Although  per- 
fectly well  at  Cameroons,  each  day  of  the  travelling 
seemed  to  bring  me  increased  strength,  and  I  certainly 
do  not  think  I  was  ever  better  in  my  life  than  I  am  now. 
Among  our  fellow-passengers  was  one  Jesuit  priest, 
travelling  from  Gaboon  to  Landana — P^re  le  Berre,  a 
sort  of  bishop.  We  were  placed  vis-d-vis  at  table,  and 
so  frequently  got  into  conversation,  although  he  seemed 
to  know  nothing  of  English.  With  our  slight  acquaint- 
ance with  French,  and  the  tendency  to  use  Dualla  words, 
the  conversation  was  very  stumbling,  although  Mr.  Gren- 
fell  managed  it  much  better  than  I.  We  at  first  feared 
that  he  made  the  journey  as  a  spy  upon  us,  but  that 
impression  was  removed  before  we  parted.  Although  he 
asked  a  few  questions  about  us  and  our  intentions,  he 
seemed  only  desirous  to  make  himself  agreeable.  Ask- 
ing about  our  denominational  practices  and  opinions, 
and  hearing  that  we  only  baptized  those  who  believe,  he 
spoke  up  for  infant  sprinkling,  although  he  did  not  base 
anything  upon  Scripture.  Screwing  up  his  small  eyes, 
and  cocking  his  head  on  one  side  like  a  canary,  he  said, 
"  Ah,  petits  enfants !  Dieu  content ;  Dieu  les  aime." 
Acknowledging  that  there  was  no  Scriptural  warrant  for 
the  practice,  he  felt  that  it  must  be  acceptable  and  pleas- 
ing to  God.  He  only  mentioned  San  Salvador  once, 
asking  if  we  were  going  there.' 

The  diminished  company  included  two  teachers  (Ebolu 
and  Epea),  one  Portuguese  interpreter,  two  Kru  boys, 
one  Cameroons  boy  from  the  Mission,  and  two  small 
personal   boys    (Ti    and    Cam).     Jack   also,    a  donkey, 


io6        On  the  LoAvep  Congo 

deserves  mention,  from  whom  Comber  expected  great 
things,  and  whom  he  desired  to  have  accounted  as  'on 
the  staff.'  This  revealed  a  Christian  spirit  on  Comber's 
part,  for  Jack  had  kicked  him  in  the  chest,  and  used  to 
make  extraordinary  efforts  to  unseat  him.  But,  ignoring 
the  ill  and  rejoicing  in  the  good,  he  eulogizes  the  beast, 
who  is  '  none  of  your  miserable  Hampstead  Heath 
donkeys,'  and  '  always  goes  at  a  trot  or  gallop,' 

The  little  expedition  was  cordially  received  by  the 
friendly  authorities  of  the  Dutch  house  at  Banana,  and 
shortly  after  proceeded  up  the  river  in  their  own  boat. 

At  Musuko  they  were  delayed  by  the  non-arrival  of 
expected  carriers  from  San  Salvador.  Impatient  of 
waiting,  they  obtained  thirty-five  recruits  from  the  dis- 
trict of  Musuko,  and  commenced  the  overland  march  to 
San  Salvador  on  July  30.  On  the  way  they  were  met  by 
fifty  men,  whom  the  King  of  Kongo  had  sent  to  convoy 
them.  These  were  allowed  to  pass  on  to  Musuko,  to 
bring  up  stores  which  had  been  left  behind.  The  march 
was  easy  and  uneventful.  Food  was  procured  without 
difficulty.  The  rivers  to  be  crossed  were  not  serious 
obstacles,  except  to  '  Jack.' 

'  The  greatest  physical  difficulty  in  travelling,  owing 
to  the  narrowness  of  the  path,  was  the  tall,  thick  grass, 
reaching  in  many  places  fifteen  feet  in  height.' 

The  hundred  miles  from  Musuko  to  San  Salvador 
was  covered  in  eight  days,  and  the  visitors  were  heartily 
welcomed  by  the  King  and  people,  notwithstanding  the 
presence  of  the  Jesuit,  Padre  Lazaro,  who  had  forestalled 
them.  The  King  was  accustomed  to  spend  much  time 
in  sitting  in  the  courtyard  outside  his  house,  and  here 
the  reception  took  place. 

'Pedro  Finga'  (the  head  man  of  the  caravan)  'intro- 
ducing us  to  his  Majesty,  went  down  upon  his  knees,  and 


Dom  Pedro's  Reception       107 

seemed  struck  with  awe  and  reverence  ;  and  most  of 
those  who  interviewed  his  Majesty  rubbed  dust  on  their 
foreheads,  and  clapped  hands  long  and  vigorously.  We 
found  Dom  Pedro,  or  Ntotela  as  he  is  called  by  his 
people,  sitting  outside  his  house,  his  chair  placed  on  an 
old  piece  of  carpet.  Taking  off  our  hats  as  we  approached, 
we  shook  hands  with  the  King,  and  inquired  after  his 
welfare.  He  placed  chairs  for  his  English  guests,  and 
seemed  glad  to  see  us,' 

The  missionaries  were  pleased  to  learn  that  the 
presence  of  the  Jesuit  father  had  not  diminished  the 
King's  desire  that  they  should  establish  a  station  in  San 
Salvador,  and  that  his  promises  of  countenance  and 
protection  were  all  that  could  be  desired.  But  they  were 
bent  on  reaching  Stanley  Pool ;  and  after  three  weeks' 
stay  at  San  Salvador  started  for  Makuta,  an  important 
district  of  which  they  had  heard  from  passing  parties  of 
traders.  The  King,  whose  reluctance  to  consent  to  their 
departure  had  been  overcome,  supplied  them  with  carriers. 
They  also  secured  the  services  of  Matoko,  who  had  been 
with  Lieutenant  Grandy  upon  his  expedition,  and  had 
obtained  a  good  record.  At  Moila  their  carriers  declined 
to  proceed  ;  but  the  chief  of  Moila  supplied  them  with 
others.  Four  days'  further  march  brought  them  to 
Tungwa,  the  most  important  of  the  Makuta  towns.  As 
they  looked  down  upon  it  from  a  hill  they  were  much 
impressed  by  its  trim  sightliness,  and  sent  ambassadors 
to  the  King  of  Makuta,  intimating  their  desire  to  pass 
through  his  country.  The  answer  was  favourable,  and 
the  expedition  put  on  its  best  clothes  and  proceeded. 

'As  we  strode  down  the  hill  and  crossed  the  river, 
which  is  about  twenty  feet  wide  and  from  two  to  six  feet 
deep,  more  of  the  inhabitants  gathered  about  us,  curious 
and  fearless,  but  not  impertinent ;  and  we  followed  our 


io8        On  the  Lowep  Cong^o 

good  friend  Matoko  into  the  centre  of  the  town,  and 
found  that  the  people  were  in  a  great  state  of  excited 
curiosity.  Some  hundreds  formed  a  half-circle  at  the 
front  of  the  house  under  the  eaves  of  which  we  sat,  and 
they  were  eagerly  pressing  upon  one  another,  and  gazing 
at  us  with  that  intense  wondering  gaze  which  I  had 
before  encountered  in  interior  Cameroons.  One  fine- 
looking  old  woman  especially  interested  me.  She  took 
her  pipe  from  her  mouth,  and  looked  at  us  long  and 
silently,  with  piercing  eyes  and  half-opened  mouth  ;  and 
this  old  woman  was  nearly  always  amongst  the  crowd, 
constantly  sitting  at  a  respectful  distance  from  our  tent, 
during  the  four  days  of  our  stay  at  Tungwa.  It  was 
interesting  and  pleasant,  too,  to  see  the  frequent  family 
resemblances  between  one  and  another,  a  thing  I  had 
not  noticed  before  in  Africa,  except  among  a  few  Came- 
roons families.  But  most  interesting  were  the  children. 
Some  half  a  dozen  boys,  about  eight  to  twelve  years  of 
age,  with  frank,  open  faces,  bright,  lustrous  eyes,  and 
well-formed  heads,  I  became  quite  attached  to,  and 
longed  to  have  the  task  of  teaching  and  training  into 
disciples  of  Christ.  We  found  these  boys  to  be  very 
quick  and  intelligent,  when  we  tried  to  teach  them. 

'After  waiting  about  half  an  hour,  the  son  of  the 
Soba  made  his  appearance,  dressed  in  a  red-and-black 
plaid  wound  round  his  body  and  over  his  shoulders,  a 
military  coat,  and  a  military  cocked  hat.  He  advanced 
slowly  to  the  sound  of  drums  and  bugles,  his  people  form- 
ing an  avenue  at  his  approach.  When  he  reached  within 
a  dozen  paces,  he  stepped  briskly  for\vard  from  the 
umbrella  held  over  him,  and  lifting  his  hat  and  making 
a  good  bow,  shook  hands  with  us.  He  had  come  to 
conduct  us  to  the  Soba,  his  father,  by  whom  we  were 
grandly   received ;    indeed,  in   a    more   stately  manner 


•  ■-^f^^^Jff. 


J.  ..d 


-P^' 


J»  ^^^'^ 


^iw.     , 


H 
O 


[i,  CO 

Z  ao 


HO 

< 


Welcomed,  but  Foiled        109 

than  by  the  King  of  Kongo.  He  was  sitting  on  a 
bamboo  native  chair,  dressed  much  in  the  same  style  as 
his  son,  and  was  surrounded  by  musicians.  He  rose 
from  his  seat  on  our  approach  and  advanced  to  meet  us, 
while  his  band  made  such  a  deafening  noise  that  our 
efforts  to  speak  to  him  were  in  vain.  The  musical 
instruments  consisted  of  some  large  drums,  about  six 
cornets  and  bugles,  and  seven  ivory  horns.  These  horns 
were  each  of  a  whole  tusk,  and  gave  forth  very  soft, 
sweet  sounds.  As  he  had  nothing  but  leopard  skins  to 
offer  us  to  sit  upon,  and  the  music  was  almost  too  much, 
we  retired,  asking  him  to  visit  us  in  our  tent.  This  he 
did,  with  his  son,  soon  after,  when  we  explained  why  we 
had  come.  He  thought  we  were  traders,  and  had  come 
from  Ambriz  to  buy  his  ivory,  and  seemed  scarcely  to 
believe  us,  when  we  said  we  had  never  bought  a  single 
tusk,  and  only  wanted  to  teach  black  men  what  was 
good.  He  had  had  no  experience  of  missionaries  before.' 
But  though  kindly  received  by  the  King  of  Makuta, 
Grenfell  and  Comber  found  their  main  purpose  foiled. 
He  would  neither  assist  nor  even  permit  their  further 
progress  toward  the  Upper  Congo.  It  only  remained 
for  them  to  retrace  their  steps  to  San  Salvador.  They 
were  most  cordially  received  by  the  King,  and  their 
determination  to  make  San  Salvador  the  base  station  of 
the  mission  was  confirmed.  The  preliminary  expedition 
having  so  far  fulfilled  its  purpose,  Comber  returned  to 
England,  to  report,  and  Grenfell  went  to  Victoria, 
Cameroons.  Here  he  married  his  second  wife,  Miss  Rose 
Patience  Edgerley,  who  subsequently  accompanied  him 
in  many  of  his  most  adventurous  journeys  ;  and  here  for 
a  time  he  resided,  occupied  in  trading,  and  in  finishing 
his  explorations  of  the  Cameroons  country  ;  his  formal 
connection  with  the  mission  being  temporarily  severed. 


no        On  the  Lower  Con^o 

Though  the  story  overruns  itself  a  little,  I  allow 
Grenfell  to  summarize  the  proceedings  of  the  mission  in 
the  matter  of  further  pioneering  on  the  Lower  Congo, 
adding  one  or  two  necessary  notes.  The  history  is 
extremely  condensed  ;  but  it  embodies  descriptive  details 
of  importance,  which,  with  the  accompanying  map  (see 
page  90),  will  carry  the  reader  through  the  cataract  region. 

To  avoid  interrupting  Grenfell's  narrative,  it  may  be 
stated  here  that  at  the  end  of  1880  he  re-entered  the 
service  of  the  Mission,  to  the  great  joy  of  his  colleagues, 
who  were  in  sore  need  of  the  practical  gifts  with  which 
he  was  so  opulently  endowed.  After  consultation  at  San 
Salvador,  he  set  about  the  erection  of  necessary  buildings 
at  Musuko,  and  rendered  unique  service  in  the  establish- 
ment of  stations,  intermediate  between  Musuko  and 
Stanley  Pool, 

In  the  article  already  quoted  from,  published  in  the 
Missionary  Herald,  September  1882,  Grenfell  states  that 
Comber's  visit  to  England,  which  was  an  important  event 
in  the  history  of  the  Mission,  'secured  more  help  in  the 
persons  of  Messrs.  Crudgington,  Hartland,  and  Bentley, 
who,  together  with  Mrs.  Comber,  made  up  the  missionary 
band  of  five  that  sailed  in  the  June  of  1879'  ;  and  pro- 
ceeds :  '  Before  the  autumn  had  set  in,  a  station  was 
established  at  San  Salvador,  and  this  was  followed 
immediately  by  the  great  sorrow  which  fell  upon  our 
Brother  Comber  in  the  loss  of  his  dear  wife. 

'  A  year  later,  and  after  twelve  different  attempts 
to  reach  Stanley  Pool  by  way  of  Kinsuka,  Ndanga, 
Zombo,  and  Makuta,  Mr.  Comber  was  shot  by  the 
natives  of  this  last-named  place,  and  narrowly  escaped 
with  his  life.  After  this  determined  opposition  it  was 
felt  impossible  to  do  more  in  this  direction,  so  a  new 
route  on  the  north  bank  was  successfully  tried  by  Messrs. 


Reinfopcements  1 1 1 

Crudgington  and  Bentley,  who  reached  Stanley  Fool  in 
February  of  last  year,  1881. 

'  The  great  natural  waterway  into  the  heart  of  Africa 
being  proved  to  be  accessible,  more  help  was  earnestly 
asked  for,  and  six  new  men  were  voted  to  reinforce  the 
Congo  Mission.  It  was  also  decided  to  commence  the 
building  of  the  steamer,  the  funds  for  which  had  been  so 
nobly  provided  by  Mr.  Arthington.  Mr.  Dixon,  the  first 
of  the  six  new  brethren,  sailed  in  August  of  last  year, 
together  with  Mr.  Crudgington,  in  the  same  mail  which 
carried  our  steel  boat  the  "  Plymouth."  Messrs.  Weeks 
and  Butcher  followed,  and  are  now  upon  the  spot.  Last 
month  Messrs.  Moolenaar  and  Hughes  set  sail  in  the 
"  Benguela,"  and  are,  we  hope,  well  on  their  way  to  help 
the  brethren  who  look  so  anxiously  for  their  arrival. 
Mr.  Doke,  the  last  of  the  six,  is  now  engaged  in  making 
himself  acquainted  with  the  construction  of  the  new 
steamer,  the  "  Peace."  He  is  hoping  to  sail  on  the  nth 
of  October,  by  which  time  it  is  expected  our  little  steam 
vessel  will  be  ready  for  shipment. 

*  It  was  hoped  at  one  time  that  San  Salvador  would 
have  formed  a  link  in  a  chain  of  stations  connecting  the 
lower  with  the  upper  river ;  but,  the  road  in  that  direc- 
tion being  barred,  that  idea  has  been  relinquished, 
another  route  decided  upon,  and  an  independent  chain 
of  stations  formed.  As  we  cannot  pass  through  the 
cataract  region  at  a  single  bound,  seeing  that  it  extends 
200  miles  or  more,  stations  have  been  built  at  convenient 
distances.  These  will  serve  as  depots  for  barter  goods 
and  stores,  and  also  as  resting-places  for  those  who  are 
journeying.  They  are  also  centres  for  Christian  work, 
and  places  from  which  the  kindly  influences  of  the 
missionary  can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  prejudices 
that  exist  in  the  hearts  of  the  natives  against  the  white 


1  12 


On  the  Lower  Cong^o 


man — prejudices  which  so  effectually  close  their  hearts 
against  the  messages  of  love  and  mercy  sent  by  Christ. 

'  In  the  sight  of  these  poor  people  we  are  brethren  to 
those  whose  dealings  with  them  have  been  marked  by 
such  cruelty  ;  brethren  to  those  who  are  at  the  bottom  of 
all  the  untold  horrors  of  the  slave  trade.  To  these 
natives  it  is  quite  inconceivable  that  we  can  have  any 
good  purpose  in  our  hearts  concerning  them.  They  are 
very  naturally  suspicious  at  first,  and  unwilling  to  help, 
lest  in  helping  they  find  at  last  they  have  only  been 
binding  yokes  on  their  own  necks.  It  is  only  by 
missionaries  living  amongst  these  people,  and  proving 
to  them  what  manner  of  men  they  are,  that  these 
suspicions  will  be  overcome,  and  a  way  be  opened  to 
their  hearts  and  confidences, 

'  The  first  link  in  our  chain  of  stations,  hitherto,  has 
been  at  Musuko.  This  has  served  as  our  base  of  opera- 
tions, and  as  a  depot  for  all  the  goods  required  for  the 
carrying  on  of  up-country  work.  As  all  payments  are 
made  in  cotton  goods,  beads,  knives,  or  other  bulky 
forms  of  money,  our  store-room  is  necessarily  very  large, 
and  much  more  trouble  to  look  after  than  a  cash-box  or 
a  cheque-book.  From  San  Salvador,  a  distance  of  about 
ninety  miles,  carriers  come  down  by  land  for  the  needful 
supplies.  From  our  station  at  Isangila,  the  second  link 
in  our  chain  of  riverside  stations,  where  Mr.  Hartland 
is  in  charge,  the  distance  to  Musuko  is  about  seventy 
miles.  Two-thirds  of  this  journey  is  performed  by  land  ; 
the  other  third,  between  Vivi  and  Musuko,  by  water. 
From  Isangila  to  Manyanga,  our  most  advanced  station, 
the  distance  is  about  seventy- five  miles.  This  distance 
at  first  was  traversed  by  land  through  the  Basundi 
country,  where  the  people  are  so  intractable  and  un- 
friendly that  they  were  characterized  by  Stanley  as  the 


Routes  and  Houses 


1 1 


worst  type  of  negro  he  had  ever  encountered.  But  since 
the  kind  gift  of  our  "  Plymouth  "  boat  by  a  Plymouth 
friend,  this  journey  is  now  performed  by  water,  and 
without  coming  in  contact  with  the  troublesome  Basundi. 
The  boat,  with  a  crew  of  eight  or  ten  men,  can  do  the 
journey  in  the  same  time  as  would  be  occupied  in 
going  overland  ;  it  can  take  up  as  much  cargo  as  forty 
carriers ;  and,  were  it  not  needful  to  unload  the  boat  in 
passing  round  some  of  the  bad  points,  and  to  carry  the 
loads  for  short  distances  over  the  rocks,  the  journey  could 
be  made  in  much  less  time — returning  takes  only  a  day 
and  a  half.  As  soon  as  Messrs.  Moolenaar  and  Hughes 
reach  the  Congo,  Messrs.  Comber  and  Bentley  will  be 
relieved  at  Manyanga,  and  they  will  then  proceed  inland 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  our  station  at  Stanley 
Pool,  and  of  preparing  for  the  arrival  of  the  steamer. 

*  At  present,  San  Salvador  is  our  only  station  which 
can  boast  of  anything  like  a  permanent  building.  Here 
we  have  a  substantial  stone  house.  At  our  other  stations, 
the  houses  are  built  of  the  same  materials  as  are  used  by 
the  natives,  but  in  rather  a  better  style,  and  more  roomy. 
The  walls  are  built  by  nailing  the  stems  of  palm  fronds 
in  horizontal  rows  upon  posts  fixed  in  the  ground,  suit- 
able spaces  being  left  for  windows  and  doors.  The  roofs 
are  very  effectually  covered  with  grass. 

'  From  Mr.  Comber's  last  letter,  published  in  the  June 
Herald,  it  will  be  gathered  how  great  were  the  difficulties 
of  land  transport  between  Vivi  and  Isangila.  It  was 
hoped  at  one  time  that  these  difficulties  would  have 
been  overcome,  but  instead  of  this  they  have  gradually 
thickened,  and  have  decided  our  brethren  to  adopt  a 
modification  of  their  route.  After  due  deliberation,  it 
has  been  found  desirable  to  move  our  base  higher  up 
the  river  to  Wanga  Wanga,  which,  while  it  is  equally 

I 


114         On  the  Low^ep  Cong*o 

accessible  with  Musuko  from  San  Salvador,  has  the 
advantage  of  being  at  the  commencement  of  a  south- 
bank  route  to  Stanley  Pool,  and  this  Musuko  has  not, 
with  regard  to  our  present  route,  seeing  that  twenty 
miles  or  so  of  bad  waterway  lie  between  that  point 
and  the  commencement  of  the  land  journey  at  Vivi, 
where  Stanley's  road  begins. 

'  By  starting  at  Wanga  Wanga,  and  joining  the  route 
followed  by  our  brethren  of  the  L.I.M.  (Livingstone 
Inland  Mission)  at  the  Mpozo  ferry,  and  passing  through 
their  stations  at  Palabala  and  Banza  Manteka  and  on  to 
Bayneston,  we  reach  a  point  on  the  river  above  Isangila, 
and  beyond  two  dangerous  cataracts  which  lie  in  the 
course  between  that  place  and  Manyanga.  In  adopting 
this  route  we  have  a  few  more  miles  to  walk,  but  we  pass 
through  a  populous  country  where  both  food  and  carriers 
are  to  be  obtained,  and  we  save  the  bad  water  journeys 
below  Vivi  and  between  Isangila  and  Bayneston.  If  the 
two  missions  use  the  same  path,  we  shall  each  secure  the 
advantages  of  resting-places  at  shorter  intervals  than 
would  be  possible  were  the  stations  spread  over  two 
distinct  routes.  We  shall  also  be  nearer  help  in  cases  of 
emergency,  and  otherwise  be  able  to  render  mutual 
assistance,  which,  we  trust,  will  be  of  service  in  carrying 
on  the  work  so  near  the  hearts  of  both. 

'  Our  latest  news  of  Mr.  Crudgington  (from  Mr. 
Butcher's  letter  dated  Musuko,  June  15),  tells  of  his 
being  engaged  in  building  the  new  premises  at  Wanga 
Wanga.  Our  latest  news  of  Messrs.  Comber  and 
Hartland  we  learn  from  Mr.  Clark,  of  the  L.I.M.,  who 
speaks  of  their  having  called  at  Palabala  on  May  12, 
when  on  their  way  up  to  Bayneston,  to  arrange  for 
ground  and  to  commence  building  there.  This  being 
accomplished,  Mr.  Comber  was  going  on  to  Manyanga, 


The  Pope's  Bull  115 

where  he  intended  staying  with  Mr.  Bentley  till  rein- 
forcements arrived,  so  as  to  allow  of  their  proceeding 
up  country.  From  Mr.  Bentley  news  has  been  received 
of  several  successful  journeys  of  the  "  Plymouth."  She 
reached  Manyanga  for  the  first  time  on  March  28. 
From  Messrs.  Dixon  and  Weeks,  at  San  Salvador,  the 
latest  tidings  are  very  hopeful.  The  schools  now  boast 
better  attendances,  but,  as  the  rainy  season  is  interfering 
with  the  services  held  under  the  King's  Council-tree, 
they  are  having  a  meeting-place  covered  in,  so  that 
they  may  be  able  to  hold  their  gatherings  the  rain 
notwithstanding. 

*  Having  thus  summarized  the  past  history  of  our 
Congo  Mission,  our  intentions  and  future  plans  now 
very  naturally  suggest  themselves.  It  may  now  be 
taken  for  granted  that  it  is  decided  to  maintain  San 
Salvador,  and  to  occupy  ;in  addition  three  stations — 
Wanga  Wanga,  Bayneston,  and  Manyanga,  and  also 
to  establish  a  station  at  Stanley  Pool  as  soon  as  that  is 
possible. 

'  Now,  while  the  stations  along  the  river  are  centres 
from  which,  we  trust,  the  light  of  Christian  truth  will 
radiate  far  and  wide,  they  are  themselves  only  a  means 
to  an  end,  that  end  being  the  formation  of  a  line  of 
communication  between  the  thinly-peopled  district  of  the 
lower  river  and  the  populous  region  of  the  Central 
Congo,  where  our  Society  looks  for  a  sphere  of  much 
more  abundant  usefulness.' 

Several  letters  of  Grenfell  during  this  period  tell  of 
the  missions  of  the  Jesuits,  '  who  have  again  secured  the 
active  co-operation  of  the  Portuguese  Government,  and 
are  now  acting  upon  the  terms  of  the  special  Bull  issued 
by  the  Pope  with  regard  to  Protestant  Mission  work  in 
Central  Africa,  that    "  the    movements   of   the   heretics 


ii6         On  the  Lower  Cong'o 

are  to   be  followed  up,  and  their  efforts  harassed  and 
destroyed."  ' 

I  conclude  this  chapter  with  extracts  from  a  letter 
dating  from  Isangila,  in  July,  1881,  and  with  Grenfell's 
account  of  the  establishment  of  the  station  at  Manyanga. 

'  Here  at  Isangila,  where  we  take  to  the  river  for 
seventy  or  eighty  miles,  we  have  built  a  rough  sort  of 
station,  and  are  busy  preparing  for  another  move  ahead  ; 
but  as  our  boat  (which  is  to  come  out  in  pieces)  has  not 
arrived  yet,  we  are  going  by  land,  and  in  this  rough 
country  it  will  take  a  week's  hard  walking  to  reach 
Manyanga,  where  our  next  station  is  to  be  fixed. 

'We  hope  to  make  a  start  about  August  10.  Mr. 
Bentley  has  gone  down  to  Musuko  for  rice  and  a  few 
things,  and  when  he  comes  up  he  will  join  Mr.  Comber 
and  myself  in  our  proposed  journey.  Mr.  Comber 
intends  staying  at  Manyanga,  Bentley  and  I  return  here, 
where  Bentley  will  stay  awhile,  and  I  shall  go  down  to 
Musuko.  I  left  Musuko  three  weeks  ago  (that  is,  for 
the  last  trip),  and  am  expecting  it  will  be  five  weeks 
more  ere  I  manage  to  get  back.  There  is  so  much  to 
do  that  time  passes  very  quickly. 

*  It  'ys,  just  possible  that  by  the  time  I  get  back  I  may 
meet  instructions  from  the  Committee  to  proceed  to 
England,  to  see  about  the  proposed  new  steamer.  The 
men  out  here  have  all  written  Mr.  Baynes,  saying  I  must 
be  sent  for  to  look  after  getting  the  thing  that  is  wanted. 
But  I  can't  leave  till  more  men  are  out — we  aren't  half 
enough  for  the  work  in  hand,  and  it  won't  do  for  another 
of  us  to  clear  out  before  reinforcements  have  arrived. 
It  is  also  possible  that  the  Committee  will  decide 
not  to  send  for  me,  so  you  must  not  rely  upon  my 
turning  up  in  the  old  country  again  before  you  hear 
something  more  definite.  .  .  . 


steeper  than  Malvern        n; 

'  Our  new  station  here  is  close  to  the  falls,  which  kick 
up  a  tremendous  din  day  and  night :  the  roar  is  some- 
thing terrific.  I  sometimes  wake  up  with  a  start,  when  a 
gust  of  wind  in  this  direction  makes  it  specially  audible. 
The  nearest  town  is  a  mile  away,  so  that  the  needs  of 
our  transit  service  have  been  considered  before  the 
advisability  of  building  among  the  people.  We  must  be 
on  the  spot  where  our  boats  take  to  the  water.  Our 
object  is  not  so  much  the  few  scattered  people  here,  as 
the  great  central  population. 

'You  will  have  heard  about  the  Roman  Catholics 
following  us  to  San  Salvador.  They  are  now  busy 
trying  to  reach  Stanley  Pool,  and  will  very  likely  succeed. 
A  fortnight  ago  one  of  their  men  left  here  on  his  second 
attempt.  He  had  thirty  carriers,  all  armed  with  guns. 
Of  course  he  can't  do  much  the  first  time  he  gets  up. 
He  will  want  to  take  up  a  lot  of  things  before  he  can 
settle  down  and  commence  a  Mission.  The  heart  of 
Africa  is  big  enough  for  us  all,  but  it  seems  as  though 
the  Roman  Catholics  were  bent  on  treading  on  our  heels 
wherever  we  turn,  and  not  upon  an  independent  course 
of  their  own.  .  .  . 

'  Another  P.S.,  just  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the  three 
days'  walk  from  Vivi  here.  I  may  tell  you  that  we  have 
to  cross  six  hills,  each  of  them  higher  and  steeper  than 
Malvern,  having  only  miserable  ruts  instead  of  roads. 
I'm  getting  used  to  them,  and  so  they  don't  appear  so 
long  as  at  first.' 

The  story  of  the  establishment  of  the  station  at 
Manyanga  is  told  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes,  dated 
August  19 — 

'  My  last  advised  you  that  Mr.  Bentley  and  I  intended 
to  start  for  this  place,  and  how,  on  account  of  serious 
sickness,  Mr.  Comber  was   compelled  to  relinquish  his 


ii8         On  the  Lower  Cong-o 

intention  of  accompanying  us.  We  are  glad  to  report 
the  realization  of  our  purpose  in  our  arrival  here  yesterday 
morning. 

'  We  left  Isangila  just  a  week  ago,  and  made  a  rapid 
march  through  the  Basundi  district ;  and  since  our  arrival 
we  have  not  lost  much  time,  as  you  will  judge  when  I 
tell  you  that  the  ground  for  our  station  is  already  appor- 
tioned to  us  by  the  native  chiefs,  who  reside  some  three 
or  four  miles  away,  and  who  came  down  with  nearly  a 
hundred  followers.  Presents  have  been  interchanged, 
and  the  whole  bargain  settled  in  the  most  satisfactory 
manner  for  about  two  pounds'  worth  of  goods.  Our 
terrain  is  separated  by  a  small  brook  of  fine  water  from 
that  occupied  by  the  Belgian  expedition,  which  is  a 
splendidly  commanding  position  on  the  top  of  an  isolated 
hill  250  feet  high.  Ours  is  much  less  pretentious,  but 
promises  to  be  very  convenient ;  it  is  on  a  slight  eleva- 
tion, some  fifty  feet  above  flood-water  mark.  The 
natives  are  most  friendly  and  well-behaved,  and  are  a 
remarkable  contrast  to  their  neighbours,  the  unamiable 
Basundi.  The  first  question  they  put  to  us  was,  "Do 
you  buy  slaves  } "  and  they  appeared  relieved  and  quite 
satisfied  with  our  denial.  The  memories  of  the  old  men- 
stealing  horrors  seem  still  to  haunt  them. 

'  Upon  our  arrival  here  we  found  P^re  Augouard  thus 
far  on  his  return  from  Stanley  Pool.  He  told  me  that, 
being  a  Frenchman,  the  chief  of  Nshasha,  in  conformity 
with  Count  de  Brazza's  instructions,  was  willing  to  allow 
him  to  build,  but  that  determined  resistance  will  be 
made,  on  the  part  of  the  people,  to  the  settlement  there 
of  those  of  other  nationalities. 

'Upon  Mr.  Stanley's  arrival  there,  some  little  time 
in  advance  of  the  "  P^re,"  he  tried  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  a  station  on  the  southern  bank,  staying  the 


Barefaced  Robbers  119 

meantime  with  his  old  friend  Nga  Liema,  of  "  big  goat " 
fame.  P^re  Augouard  did  not  cross  to  the  south  side. 
Mr.  Stanley's  failure  to  *'  set "  the  palaver  at  once  has  not 
deterred  him  from  prosecuting  the  work  of  carrying  up 
boats  and  stores — this  is  going  on  as  vigorously  as  ever. 
'  Although  the  journey  to  Manyanga  by  land  may 
be  quickly  and  successfully  made,  it  is  not  for  a  moment 
to  be  supposed  that  it  is  a  feasible  route  for  the  regular 
transmission  of  supplies.  We  had  a  little  experience 
with  several  types  of  African  character,  but  never  before 
met  such  people  as  the  Basundi.  It  will  be  a  very 
pressing  call  to  assure  me  that  it  is  my  duty  to  undertake 
the  land  journey  to  Manyanga  again,  and  to  encounter 
its  worries  and  anxieties.  Caravans  taking  cargo  would 
only  be  safe  when  heavily  armed.  The  Basundi,  when 
encountered  in  small  parties,  run  away  and  hide ;  when 
in  companies  they  will  rob  you  in  the  most  barefaced 
manner,  and  laugh  when  accused,  and  the  fact  brought 
home  to  them.  Nothing  is  safe,  from  bales  of  cloth 
down  to  cooking-pot  covers,  if  they  can  only  get  a  chance 
of  laying  their  hands  upon  them,  and  there  is  no  know- 
ing to  what  lengths  a  yelling  mob  may  go  when  once  a 
spark  is  kindled.  The  water-way  between  Isangila  and 
Manyanga,  though  a  bad  and  dangerous  one,  must  be 
worked,  if  we  are  to  maintain  the  proposed  up-country 
stations.  It  offers  little  or  no  advantage  in  the  way  of 
speed  in  going  up  river,  but  the  dangers  of  the  water  are 
less  to  be  feared  than  the  people.  A  good  boat  is 
needful,  and  I  trust  by  this  time  is  on  the  way  out,  so 
that  we  may  speedily  hope  to  keep  Manyanga  efficiently 
supplied,  and  provide  for  further  inland  movements,  as 
well  as  to  relieve  brother  Bentley,  who  is  staying  to 
commence  the  station,  in  the  hope  that  help  is  close  to 
hand. 


I20        On  the  Louver  Cong^o 

*The  next  English  mail  leaves  Banana  on  September  2, 
and  I  am  very  anxious  that  it  should  take  news  of  our 
proceedings,  so  I  intend  starting  off  again  this  afternoon 
to  **  post "  the  news.  I  have  over  140  miles  of  walking 
to  do,  and  after  that  more  than  a  hundred  to  go  down 
river  in  our  boat,  which  is  waiting  for  me  at  Vivi. 

*  It  will  be  very  encouraging  to  you,  my  dear  Mr, 
Baynes,  to  find  our  proposed  stations  being  gradually 
occupied  ;  it  undoubtedly  is  so  to  us.  All  friends  at 
home  will  join  us  in  thanking  God  and  taking  courage. 

'  Since  writing  the  foregoing  the  Portuguese  gun-boat 
"  Bengo  "  has  been  up  to  Noki,  leaving  there  a  "  Major  " 
in  charge  of  three  houses,  which  have  come  out  in 
sections,  for  the  use  of  the  Mission  at  San  Salvador. 
He  is  asking  for  1200  carriers  to  take  these  houses  up.' 

The  forecast  of  the  Isangila  letter  was  fulfilled,  and  in 
due  course  Grenfell  returned  to  England  to  manage  the 
business  of  the  *  Peace.' 


1 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  COMING  OF  THE  *  PEACE* 

Grenfell's  Love  for  the  Ship— Mr.  Arthington's  Gift—Return  of 
Grenfell  to  England—'  Down  in  the  Dumps '  — Loss  of  the 
'  Ethiopia '  — Launch  of  the  *  Peace '  — Stanley  Pool  Station 
Started— Dr.  Stanford's  Sermon— Speech  of  Mr.  Joseph  Tritton 
—Grenfell's  Speech— Speech  of  Mr.  Doke— The  Voyage  Out 
—Christmas  Pudding— A  Noah's  Ark— Arrival  at  Banana- 
Death  of  Grenfell's  Child— Death  of  Mr.  Doke— Death  of  Mr. 
Hartland— Journey  to  Stanley  Pool— Bad  Administrations— A 
Sudden  Marriage. 

THE  ewe  lamb  of  which  the  Prophet  Nathan  spoke 
to  King  David  was  to  her  owner  '  as  a  daughter,' 
and  even  as  a  daughter  was  the  steamer  *  Peace '  to  the 
heart  of  George  Grenfell.  As  her  story  unfolds  itself 
we  do  not  wonder.  She  was  the  child  of  his  resourceful 
brain.  He  was  the  overseer  of  her  building.  He  super- 
intended the  laborious  and  romantic  transport  of  her 
loads.  When  other  hands  which  were  to  have  under- 
taken her  reconstruction  lay  still  in  death,  his  hands 
took  up  the  task.  On  her  deck  he  explored  immense 
reaches  of  the  waterways  of  the  Dark  Continent,  filling 
in  huge  blanks  of  its  vast  map.  She  bore  him 
through  a  thousand  perils  of  nature  and  of  man.  For 
months,  which  added  up  to  years,  she  was  the  home  of 
his  wife  and  babes,  who  accompanied  him  in  his  eventful 
voyaging.  Her  plates  and  rivets  were  dear  to  him  as 
his  own  skin,  and  the  throb  of  her  engines  was  like  the 


122     The  001111112:  of  the  *  Peace' 

beating  of  his  own  heart.  Her  sister  ships  coming  after 
were  larger,  swifter  craft,  but  she  was  his  first  love,  and 
his  love  never  failed.  In  a  moment  of  depression,  while 
the  transport  of  her  parts  from  Underhill  to  Stanley- 
Pool  was  still  in  process,  and  the  Mission  was  half 
paralyzed  by  strokes  of  death,  and  lack  of  reinforce- 
ments, he  could  suggest  or  echo  the  suggestion,  that 
perhaps  the  Committee  would  do  well  to  sell  the  *  Peace,' 
and  transfer  the  Congo  men  to  another  field.  But 
years  after,  when  she  had  become  part  of  his  life,  and 
the  suggestion  arose  as  a  matter  of  business  that  she 
might  be  sold  with  advantage,  he  remarked  grimly,  '  If 
they  sell  the  "  Peace,"  they  will  get  rid  of  me  too.'  Her 
missionary  honour  was  to  him  a  thing  beyond  price,  and 
when  the  State  seized  her  for  purposes  alien  to  her 
holy  work,  his  grief  was  passionate,  as  though  the  ship 
had  a  character  to  be  blasted  and  a  soul  to  be  stained. 
And  the  little  craft  was  faithful  to  her  master.  Worked 
by  iblack  boys,  whose  hands  he  had  made  skilful,  and 
whose  hearts  he  had  won  with  a  great  and  holy  love,  she 
bore  him,  a  dying  man,  upon  his  last  short  voyage,  from 
his  lonely  front  station  to  the  place  where  he  found  a 
grave.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  ship  afloat  has  a 
more  fascinating  history  than  that  of  the  B.M.S.  steamer 
'  Peace  ' :  and  surely  in  the  future,  when  Congo  conditions 
have  been  bettered,  and  advances  made  of  which  Grenfell 
nobly  dreamed,  in  some  State  museum,  a  worthy  model 
of  the  '  Peace '  will  hold  a  place  of  honour. 

But  now  to  the  story  of  her  coming.  In  the  summer 
of  1880  the  following  letter  was  received  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  B.M.S.  from  their  generous  friend  Mr. 
Arthington  : — 

'Dear  Sirs  and  Christian  Brethren, — I  believe  the 
time  is  come  when  we   should    make   every  necessary 


Mp.  Apthing'ton's  Gift        123 

preparation  to  carry  out  the  original  purpose  of  the 
Congo  Mission — to  place  a  steamer  on  the  Congo  River, 
where  we  can  sail  north-eastward  into  the  heart  of  Africa 
for  many  hundred  miles  uninterruptedly,  and  bring  the 
glad  tidings  of  the  everlasting  Gospel  to  thousands  of 
human  beings  who  are  now  ignorant  of  the  way  of  life 
and  immortality.  I  have,  therefore,  now  to  offer  your 
Society  one  thousand  pounds  towards  the  purchase  of 
a  steamer  of  the  best  make  and  capacity,  every  way 
suitable  for  the  purpose,  and  its  conveyance  and  launch 
on  the  river  at  Stanley  Pool ;  and  three  thousand  pounds, 
to  be  carefully  invested,  the  interest  only  to  be  used  for 
the  perpetual  maintenance  of  such  steamer  on  the  Congo 
and  its  affluents,  until  Christ  and  His  salvation  shall  be 
known  all  along  the  Congo,  from  Stanley  Pool  to  the 
first  cataract  of  the  equatorial  cataracts  of  the  Congo, 
beyond  the  mouths  of  the  Aruwimi  and  Mbura  Rivers.' 

A  few  months  after  writing  this  letter,  Mr.  Arthington 
forwarded  to  the  Treasurer  the  whole  of  the  sum  specified. 

In  July,  1 88 1,  the  Comimittee  unanimously  adopted 
five  most  important  recommendations,  relating  to  the 
conduct  and  extension  of  the  Congo  Mission,  based  on 
the  report  written  by  Messrs.  Bentley  and  Crudgington, 
of  their  eventful  journey  to  Stanley  Pool,  by  which  they 
successfully  opened  the  road,  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
river,  to  the  gate  of  the  great  interior  navigable  waterway. 

The  fourth  of  these  recommendations  was  the  follow- 
ing :  '  That,  with  a  view  to  the  wise  and  careful  con- 
sideration of  the  important  question  of  the  construction  of 
a  suitable  steam-launch  for  the  navigation  of  the  waters 
of  the  Upper  Congo,  beyond  Stanlej'  Pool,  towards  the 
interior,  in  accordance  with  the  original  plan  of  Mr. 
Arthington,  the  urgent  appeal  of  the  Congo  brethren  be 
complied  with,  and  Mr.  Grenfell  be  requested  to  visit 


124    The  Coming'  of  the  *  Peace' 

England,  for  a  short  season,  to  advise  with  the  Committee 
on  this  important  subject ;  and,  should  his  drawings  and 
specifications  be  sanctioned  by  the  Committee,  Mr. 
Grenfell  to  practically  superintend  the  building  of  such 
steam-launch,  with  a  view  to  his  becoming  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  its  construction  and  management.' 

In  pursuance  of  this  determination  on  the  part  of  the 
Committee,  Grenfell  returned  to  England  toward  the  end 
of  1 88 1,  and  letters  available  give  us  glimpses  of  his 
life  in  the  home-land  while  engaged  upon  the  business  of 
the  '  Peace.' 

On  January  8,  1882,  he  writes  to  a  friend,  regretting 
inability  to  meet  him  during  a  short  stay  in  Birmingham, 
and  pleading  that  as  he  is  home  upon  a  specific  quest,  he 
can  hope  for  no  leisure  until  the  steamer  business  is  in 
hand.  Though  he  has  written  to  Newcastle  and  Glasgow, 
he  thinks  the  work  must  be  done  in  London.  Two 
estimates  have  been  received,  and  he  hopes  that  matters 
may  be  settled  soon.  He  himself  is  '  not  brilliant,'  has 
had  a  touch  of  ague,  and  will  be  glad  of  a  little  rest. 

His  hopes  of  an  early  decision  as  regards  the  builders 
of  the  steamer  were  realized.  In  the  March  issue  of  the 
Missionary  Herald  occurs  the  following  paragraph  : — 

*  We  are  happy  to  inform  our  readers  .  .  .  that  the 
well-known  steamboat  builders,  Messrs.  Thornycroft 
and  Company,  of  Chiswick,  have  contracted  to  build  a 
boat  suitable  for  the  work  in  prospect.  In  our  last 
Herald  Mr.  Bentley  called  attention  to  the  shallowness 
of  the  river  above  Stanley  Pool,  and  this  important  fact 
has  had  to  be  borne  in  mind  in  planning  the  vessel.  It 
is  proposed  that  the  steamer  shall  be  of  steel,  having 
twin  screws,  for  her  more  easy  control  and  management 
amid  the  currents  and  sand-banks  of  the  river.  Her 
length  will  be  seventy  feet,  and  she  will  draw  only  twelve 


Grenfell  in  Eng'land  125 

inches  of  water.  This  hghtness  of  flotation  is  secured  by 
a  singularly  ingenious  arrangement  of  the  screws,  of 
which  Messrs.  Thornycroft  and  Company  are  the 
patentees.  The  contract  price  of  the  vessel,  complete 
and  packed  for  transmission  for  the  Congo,  with  a  steel 
boat  and  duplicates  of  the  most  important  portions  of 
the  machinery  and  gear,  has  been  fixed  at  the  extremely 
low  sum  of  £1760.  To  this  will  have  to  be  added  about 
;^I50  for  sundry  stores,  so  that  the  entire  cost  of  the 
vessel  will  not  exceed  ;^2000.  Mr.  Grenfell  has  come 
home,  at  the  request  of  the  Committee,  to  watch  its 
progress,  and  to  make  himself  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  its  management.  He  will  thus  be  able  to  super- 
intend putting  its  parts  together  when  they  shall  arrive 
at  their  destination.' 

The  arrangement  here  specified  entailed  that  Grenfell 
must  spend  a  large  part  of  his  time  during  the  follow- 
ing months  at  Chiswick.     In  April  he  writes  from  an 
address  in  Chelsea,  stating  that  he  has  chosen  lodgings 
about  half-way  between  Chiswick  and  the  Mission  House. 
He  is  anticipating  a  fortnight's  visit  to  Manchester  in 
May,  but  grudges  the  time,  as  the  steamer  work  requires 
his  constant  attention.     He  speaks  also  of  two  visits  to 
the  Crystal   Palace,  which   have  increased  his  store  of 
useful  information,  and   forecasts  the  greatly  extended 
use  of  electrical  power  in  this   country.     He   has   also 
attended  a  conference  on  African    Missions   at    Harley 
House,  and  '  had  a  good  time,'  shadowed,  however,  by 
news  of  losses  on  the  Congo.     This  makes  him  anxious 
concerning  the  burden  of  the  next  mail.     '  Everybody 
else  has  sad  intelligence  from  time  to  time,  and  that  we 
have  suffered  so  slightly  only  seems  to  make  apprehension 
the  keener  on  our  part.     However,  He  that  hath  kept  is 
able  to  keep,  and  we  are  all  in  His  hands.' 


126    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

On  June  2  he  is  in  trouble,  acute  but  not  crushing. 
His  duties  at  Chiswick  involved  the  occasional  conduct 
of  parties  of  visitors.  An  old  and  dear  friend  had  written, 
desiring  to  meet  him.  At  the  time  suggested  he  had 
already  promised  '  to  escort  the  party  you  encountered.' 
He  yet  hoped  to  meet  his  friend,  and  did,  but  to  little 
purpose.  Hence  these  tears  which  will  secure  for  him 
masculine  sympathy  and  feminine  censure. 

'As  soon  as  I  was  on  the  stage,  and  you  were  off 
from  Charing  Cross,  I  could  have  eaten  my  finger-ends 
for  having  so  completely  lost  my  head.  If  I  had  not 
had  a  party  of  ladies  in  tow,  I  might  have  acted  like  a 
sane  being.  As  it  was,  my  wits  went  "wool-gathering," 
and  an  uncomfortable  morning  with  a  bevy  of  "petticoats," 
has  been  followed  by  an  afternoon  of  self-recrimination 
for  having  slighted  my  oldest  chum  and  friend.  I've 
played  the  fool  most  egregiously,  and  till  I  get  a  forgiving 
line  or  two,  I  am  yours,  down  in  the  dumps,  and  out  of 
conceit  with  himself,  GEORGE  Grenfell.' 

In  June  Mr.  W.  Doke,  a  student  of  Regent's  Park 
College,  and  a  skilled  engineer,  was  accepted  by  the 
Committee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  for  work 
upon  the  Congo.  It  was  arranged  that  Mr.  Doke, 
in  co-operation  with  Grenfell,  should  undertake  the 
important  task  of  reconstructing  the  steamer  at  Stanley 
Pool.  Preparatory  to  this  service  he  became  associated 
with  Grenfell  in  the  oversight  of  the  building  of  the 
'Peace'  at  Chiswick  ;  and  in  following  months  the  hearts 
of  the  two  men  drew  together,  and  they  fondly  anticipated 
happy  fellowship  in  great  labours.  The  steamer  work 
proceeded  swiftly.  On  September  7,  Grenfell  wrote  to 
a  friend  who  proposed  a  visit  to  Chiswick :  '  You  will 
scarcely  recognize  the  skeleton  you  saw  some  months 
ago.' 


The  'Peace'  Finished 


127 


A  few  days  later  came  the  heavy  tidings  of  the  loss 
of  the  '  Ethiopia.'  This  disaster  hit  him  hard ;  but  the 
spirit  in  which  he  endured  the  disappointment  is  indicated 
by  the  following  paragraph  of  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Hartland  : — 

'Yes,  I  know  about  the  "Ethiopia."  ...  I  telegraphed 
at  once  to  Liverpool,  to  ask  whether  she  was  outward 
or  homeward  bound.  On  Monday  the  owners  did  not 
know.  This  morning  I  get  news  that  she  was  outward 
bound,  so  went  down  with  our  cargo,  a  heavy  shipment, 
and  seventeen  cases  of  extra  gearing  for  our  engines,  on 
board.  The  cloth,  beads,  etc.,  can  easily  be  bought 
again,  but  not  so  easily  the  engine  fittings.  More  delay 
for  Doke  and  me.  There  is  this  consolation,  that  the 
homeward  letters  are  not  lost,  and  that  we  may  soon 
expect  more  news. 

'  Many  thanks  for  your  verses.  How  sweet  the  con- 
solation that  we  know  that  "  Jesus  cares,"  and  "  reigns  "  ! 
I  am  beginning  to  get  a  bit  weary  of  waiting,  and  now 
there  is  more  delay.  I  need  the  sustaining  sense  of  the 
Lord's  abiding  presence  and  guidance,  and  I  praise  Him 
for  the  assurance  I  have  that  all  is  well.' 

Before  September  was  out  the  little  ship  was 
launched,  finished  afloat,  and  on  view  at  Westminster. 
In  a  subsequent  trip,  she  exhibited  her  paces  and  her 
graces,  not  only  to  the  Committee  ©f  Inspection,  but  also 
to  '  General  Sir  Arthur  Cotton,  Mr.  Barnaby  (afterwards 
Sir  N.  Barnaby,  K.C.B.),  Chief  Constructor  of  the  Royal 
Navy,  and  Mr.  Kendall,  one  of  the  Lords  of  the  Admi- 
ralty. These  authorities  were  exceedingly  well  pleased, 
and  complimented  our  Society  upon  having  obtained  in 
the  "Peace"  what  promised  to  be  such  a  valuable 
auxiliary  in  the  carrying  out  of  our  great  enterprise.' 

This  year  (1882)  the  Autumnal  meetings  of  the 
Society  were  held  in  Liverpool.    On  Tuesday,  October  3, 


128    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

at  a  public  missionary  breakfast,  Grenfell  was  one  of 
the  speakers.  The  proceedings  were  marked  by  great 
enthusiasm.  Mr.  Baynes  read  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Comber, '  reporting  his  recent  visit  to  Stanley  Pool,  and 
his  successful  negotiations  with  Mr.  H.  M.  Stanley  and 
Lieutenant  Braconnier,  of  the  International  Association, 
for  the  purchase  of  suitable  land  at  the  Pool  on  which  to 
erect  Mission  buildings  and  a  landing-stage  for  the  new 
Congo  Mission  steamer  "  Peace,"  Mr.  Comber  bearing 
high  testimony  to  the  great  kindness  and  generosity  of 
Mr.  Stanley  in  connection  with  these  negotiations.' 

It  was  estimated  that  the  Stanley  Pool  buildings 
would  cost  ;£"500.  That  amount  was  immediately  raised, 
with  an  additional  ;^700  for  the  founding  of  a  new 
station  in  the  interior.  Following  this  meeting  came 
Dr.  Stanford's  memorable  sermon,  on  Acts  xv.  26,  '  Men 
that  Jiave  hazarded  their  lives  for  the  narne  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ'  One  imagines  how,  when  the  torment  of 
his  own  speech  was  over,  the  heart  of  George  Grenfell 
was  cheered  that  day,  who  had  hazarded  his  life  already, 
and  was  destined  to  hazard  it  times  without  number,  as 
he  pushed  the  prow  of  the  little  '  Peace '  into  the  gloom 
of  Darkest  Africa,  bearing  the  light,  *  for  the  sake  of  the 
Name.' 

The  taking  to  pieces  of  the  '  Peace '  was  quickly 
accomplished.  At  the  end  of  October  there  was  *  not 
much  to  see  beyond  heaps  of  material  and  a  skeleton.' 
In  November  business  and  '  farewells '  involved  for  the 
missionary,  whose  spirits  were  rising  as  the  hour  of 
departure  approached,  much  journeying  in  the  home- 
land. On  October  17  he  is  in  Birmingham  :  on  the  20th 
at  Sancreed,  Penzance  ;  and  in  the  remaining  days  of  the 
month  he  seems  to  have  travelled  the  length  of  the 
country  two  or  three  times. 


Valedictory  129 

At  a  farewell  meeting,  held  at  the  Mission  House  on 
December  5,  the  Treasurer  of  the  Society,  Joseph  Tritton, 
Esq.,  presided,  and  in  the  course  of  a  beautiful  address, 
said — 

*Mr.  Grenfell,  as  you  are  aware,  was  recalled  from 
Congo  at  the  instance  of  the  Committee  to  assist  them 
by  his  mechanical  genius  and  African  experience  in  the 
construction  of  the  little  vessel,  the  "  Peace."  He  is 
returning  with  our  friend,  Mr,  Doke.  Mr.  Doke  will  be 
a  worthy  addition  to  the  little  band — a  little  band  in 
contrast  to  the  "  great  multitude  of  the  disciples "  in 
early  days,  but,  like  them,  "  all  of  one  heart  and  mind," 
and  they  carry  the  "  Peace  "  with  them.  It  seems  rather 
the  reversal  of  the  natural  order  of  things  that  in  this 
case  the  brethren  carry  the  ship,  and  not  the  ship  the 
brethren.  Most  devoutly  do  we  hope  that  both  will  be 
transported  in  safety  to  the  banks  of  the  Congo,  and 
that  the  little  "  Peace,"  once  launched,  may,  in  the  highest 
sense  of  the  term,  "  walk  the  waters  like  a  thing  of  life  ; " 
carrying,  as  she  will,  the  messengers  of  mercy,  the 
messengers  of  peace,  whose  feet  shall  be  beautiful  upon 
the  streams,  no  less  than  upon  the  mountains  ;  carrying 
the  messengers  with  the  tidings  of  salvation  into  the 
dark  places  of  that  land,  I  cannot  conceal  that  the 
perils  are  many,  but  God  is  our  refuge  and  our  strength. 
Let  us  not  say  that  our  brethren  go  with  their  lives  in 
their  hands.  No,  their  lives  are  in  the  hands  of  their 
Master.  We  may  say,  as  we  have  often  said,  and  often 
sung — 

*  *  Not  a  single  shaft  can  hit, 
Till  the  God  of  love  sees  fit." 

And  SO  we  speak  our  farewell  words,  and  breathe  our 
parting  benedictions,  with  all  cheerfulness,' 

Grenfell's  speech  upon  this  occasion  was  so  characteristic, 

K 


130    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

and  contained  so  much  information  concerning  the  im- 
pending transport  of  the  '  Peace '  loads,  that  it  will  be 
fitting  and  economical  of  space  to  give  the  full  report. 
He  said — 

'  Some  of  his  friends  had  been  twitting  him  because, 
as  the  time  drew  near  for  his  departure,  his  spirits  seemed 
to  grow  lighter ;  but  to  all  intents  and  purposes  Africa 
was  his  home,  and,  seeing  his  business  had  been  pro- 
longed to  twice  its  expected  length,  he  was  anxious  to 
get  back  again.  Perhaps,  however,  his  lightness  was 
partly  the  result  of  having  dispatched  from  Chiswick  a 
large  series  of  huge  cases,  the  contents  of  which  had  been 
weighing  very  heavily  upon  his  mind.  He  had  had, 
when  in  Africa,  some  little  experience  of  machinery,  and 
therefore  he  knew  a  little  about  the  needs  of  the  case 
before  them.  So  it  had  been  deemed  advisable  that  he 
should  come  to  England  to  help  forward  the  construction 
of  the  steamship  "  Peace."  The  problem  was  a  difficult 
one.  Steamers  were  not  adapted  for  climbing  cataracts, 
so  that  they  had  to  arrange  for  their  boat  to  be  taken 
to  pieces,  that  its  various  portions  could  be  transported 
overland.  There  was  also  a  difficulty  in  the  matter  of 
draught.  Congo,  above  the  cataracts,  stretched  slug- 
gishly away  into  a  breadth  of  miles,  dotted  with  thou- 
sands of  islands — and,  of  course,  was  proportionately 
shallow.  They  shad  therefore  arranged  that  when  the 
"Peace"  was  fully  laden  it  would  only  draw  twelve  inches 
of  water.  Then,  again,  they  might  remember  how 
Stanley  had  told  them  that  the  natives  had  pertinaci- 
ously taken  every  opportunity  of  attacking  him.  Now, 
they  were  not  anxious  to  become  food  for  cannibals,  so 
they  had  to  provide  the  means  of  running  away.  It 
would  be  difficult,  however,  to  apply  powerful  machinery 
to  a  boat  which  only  drew  twelve  inches. 


CONGO   RIVER   SCENERY,   CATARACT   REGION,   NEAR   STANLEY   POOL. 
Photo:  Rev.  Win.  Forfcitt. 


OLD    UNDERBILL    STATION,   AND   HELL'S   CAULDRON,   NEAR   MATADI. 
Photo :  G.  Grenfell 


Transport  of  the  *  Peace'    131 

'All  these  difficulties,  however,  had  been  grappled 
with  by  Messrs.  Thornycroft,  to  whom,  he  might  say, 
the  Society  was  most  deeply  indebted  for  the  skill, 
patience,  and  thought  which  they  had  applied  to  the 
construction  of  their  little  vessel.  Not  a  suggestion  had 
been  overlooked,  and  he  might  say  that  the  expense 
would  not  nearly  be  met  by  the  cheque  which  had  been 
forwarded  to  them. 

'  The  construction  of  the  ship  had  occupied  a  year, 
and  as  to  its  transport  they  might  consider  themselves 
fortunate  if  they  succeeded  in  getting  that  done  in 
the  same  period.  It  was  a  five  weeks'  journey  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Congo ;  then  they  had  a  voyage  of  i  lo 
miles  by  river  to  their  first  station.  There  the  cases 
would  be  unshipped  and  placed  in  the  mission  store, 
awaiting  the  carriers.  The  first  stage  was  sixty  miles 
further  on  to  Bayneston,  the  second,  seventy  miles  to 
Manyanga,  and  from  thence  to  Stanley  Pool,  the  third 
and  last  stage,  was  between  eighty  and  lOO  miles.  The 
carriers,  under  the  guidance  of  one  of  their  head  men, 
marched  in  caravans,  sometimes  stretching  a  mile  in 
length,  so  that  there  was  risk  of  some  of  the  packages 
being  lost  or  stolen.  To  lessen  that  risk,  they  had 
every  package  sewn  up  in  canvas  and  numbered,  so  that 
a  duplicate  could  be  sent  from  England  at  once,  if  the 
original  happened  to  go  astray.  An  inventory  was  to 
be  given  to  the  head  man  at  the  start,  and  the  produc- 
tion of  that  and  the  packages  at  the  end  of  the  journey 
would  ensure  his  payment. 

'  As  for  the  country  the  river  ran  through  a  ravine, 
and  surrounding  land  was  seamed  with  the  ravines  of 
inflowing  tributary  streams  so  steep  that,  in  some  in- 
stances, they  would  have  to  use  ropes  and  pulleys  to  get 
their  packages  across.     Another  obstacle  was  the  grass, 


132    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

which  was  ten  or  eighteen  feet  high,  and  only  cut  up 
into  narrow  tracks.  They  had  three  available  classes  of 
carriers — the  Krumen,  the  men  of  Loango,  and  the 
natives  of  the  country  themselves.  The  first  were  the 
best,  as  they  were  the  best  workers,  and  they  were  so  far 
from  home  when  on  .the  Congo  that  they  could  not  run 
away  ;  but  their  services  were  the  dearest.  The  Loango 
men  cost  about  a  half  less,  but  they  were  not  so  reliable. 
The  natives  were  the  cheapest,  but  also  the  most  trouble- 
some. The  pay  was  given  in  red  calico,  or  white-handled 
knives,  of  a  certain  quality.  The  rate  of  pay  came  to 
about  one  penny  per  pound  per  lOO  miles.  That  was 
after  they  had  thoroughly  organized  a  route.  At  first  it 
might  be  as  much  as  threepence  a  pound.  From  the 
coast,  where  the  route  was  not  organized,  the  price  was 
somewhat  dearer.  Sometimes  the  men,  like  the  en- 
lightened British  workmen,  struck,  and  they  (the  mis- 
sionaries) were  sometimes  separated  from  their  supplies 
by  long  periods  of  time.  They  could  not  hope  for 
anything  like  such  favourable  terms  for  the  transport  of 
the  "Peace"  till  they  had  the  San  Salvador  route  in 
working  order. 

'  As  to  the  time  which  the  transport  would  occupy : 
from  the  first  river  station  to  Bayneston,  sixty  miles, 
would  occupy  each  caravan  some  ten  days.  Their 
steamer  would  take  some  fifteen  or  tw^enty  caravans  for 
the  first  stage,  requiring  six  months  for  that  alone.  The 
second  stage  would  take  another  six  months,  and  the 
third  was  so  long  and  difficult  that  they  could  not  hope 
that  it  might  be  done  in  much  less  than  a  year.  But  they 
hoped  to  have  all  these  three  stages  run  concurrently,  so 
that,  instead  of  two  years,  they  trusted  to  begin  the 
building  of  their  steamer  long  before  the  last  loads  had 
reached  the  river-side.     They  had  already  sent  out  to 


Appalled  at  the  Cost        133 

Stanley  Pool  a  good  supply  of  tools,  etc.,  and  then  the 
work  would  begin. 

'  Many  people  rather  objected  to  missionaries  doing 
such  rough  work,  because  it  did  not  bear  directly  upon 
the  mission.  None  would  rejoice  more  heartily  than  he 
would  when  they  got  more  direct  mission  work,  but  he 
believed  it  would  be  found  that  the  result  would  more 
than  justify  the  time  and  labour  bestowed.  It  was 
expensive.  One  gentleman  had  written  to  him  that  he 
was  appalled  at  the  cost  of  this  Congo  Mission,  its  heavy 
expenses,  and  its  risk  of  life.  Well,  it  was  rather  for 
them  to  become  appalled  at  the  risk  than  for  friends  in 
England  to  become  appalled  at  the  cost. 

*  After  a  while  they  looked  forward  to  having  some 
of  the  appliances  of  civilization  at  command,  and  then 
the  risk  of  life  would  be  lessened,  for  he  could  assure 
them  at  present  the  missionaries  led  a  very  Robinson 
Crusoeish  life.  Their  houses  were  simply  four  posts 
with  bamboo  walls  and  a  reed  roof,  and  their  tables  were 
just  four  sticks  with  a  top  made  from  broken  boxes.  As 
to  the  appalling  cost,  what  did  it  amount  to  .<*  Four- 
pence  per  head  per  annum  for  the  members  of  the  Bap- 
tist denomination.  Their  squadron  for  the  suppression 
of  the  slave  traffic  cost  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  a 
year.  He  believed  that  that  quarter  of  a  million  would 
produce  infinitely  greater  results  if  applied  to  the  further- 
ance of  Christian  missions.  The  squadron  was  doubtless 
doing  useful  and  good  work,  but  why  not  supplement 
what  it  was  doing  by  preaching  and  teaching  Christ  over 
the  vast  interior  of  that  land  ? 

'  He  had  to  thank  them  for  their  kind  reception, 
which  had  cheered  his  heart.  The  memory  of  that  meet- 
ing would  strengthen  and  stimulate  them  in  the  work 
that  lay  before  them.     They  had  fears  and  difficulties  to 


134    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

encounter,  but  they  would  certainly  succeed  in  the  end, 
and  obtain  success,  because  they  were  doing  the  will  of 
the  Master.' 

At  the  same  meeting  Mr.  Doke  made  a  young 
recruit's  confession  of  faith  and  hope,  and  concluded  his 
address  with  words  which  in  a  few  short  weeks  acquired 
singular  pathos.  He  told  his  audience  *  They  perhaps 
might  never  meet  again.  He  might  come  home  again  ; 
if  so,  good-bye  till  then.  It  might  be  that  "  death's 
bright  angel  "  would  call  him  to  higher  work,  and  perhaps 
they  might  never  meet  till  before  the  throne ;  if  so, 
good-bye  till  then.' 

Noteworthy  testimony  to  the  exceptional  interest  of 
this  meeting  was  borne  by  the  Editor  of  the  Christian 
Worlds  who  was  present.  In  sending  a  generous  sub- 
scription to  the  Congo  Mission  Fund,  he  wrote  :  '  No 
report  will  convey  to  people  not  present  any  adequate 
idea  of  the  hallowed  and  inspiring  spirit  which  pervaded 
the  meeting  throughout.  A  more  genuine  and  deep- 
toned  missionary  meeting  it  was  never  our  good  fortune 
to  attend  ;  and  though  it  consisted  of  only  about  two 
hundred  people,  there  is  certain  to  go  out  from  it  a 
spiritual  influence  of  no  ordinary  kind.' 

The  two  Congo  Missionaries,  in  charge  of  the  precious 
packages  of  the  *  Peace,'  sailed  from  Liverpool  on 
December  9,  and  on  the  14th  Grenfell  wrote  to  Mr. 
Hawkes — 

'  I'm  very  sorry  I  did  not  put  it  plainer  that  I  had 
altered  my  arrangements,  and  therefore  missed  you. 
However,  I  must,  and  do,  take  the  will  for  the  deed  ; 
and  now  I  regret  that  I'm  under  such  unfavourable 
circumstances  for  writing  you  a  "  good-bye,"  and  a 
Christmas  greeting.  Here  I  am  on  board  a  steamer 
which  rolls  on  the  slightest  provocation,  trying  to  write 


A  Nig'ht-mape  at  Sea  135 

on  a  table  with  the  "  fiddles "  spread — my  legs  are 
gripping  one  of  the  table  legs,  by  way  of  aiding  my 
stability — and  altogether  about  as  uncomfortable  "  in- 
ternally" and  externally  as  most  poor  mortals  would 
care  to  be,  unless  they  were  "  going  in "  specially  for 
martyrdom.  I  won't  dilate — I  fancy  the  remembrances 
of  certain  "  fellow  feelings "  render  it  unnecessary,  and 
will  secure  your  sympathies. 

'  We  are  nearing  Madeira,  and  I  must  just  send  you 
a  few  lines,  to  let  you  know  I've  got  so  far  safely,  the 
American-predicted  storm  notwithstanding.  We  had  it 
rather  rough  on  Monday  night  and  Tuesday,  to  the 
damage  of  my  sleep  and  the  crockery,  especially  the 
crockery. 

'  I  lay  half  sleeping  in  my  berth  this  morning,  and 
was  imagining  myself  still  on  shore.  I  was  conscious  it 
was  the  14th,  and  I  knew  very  well  that  the  9th  was  the 
day  for  sailing  ;  I  began  to  perspire  at  the  possibility  of 
having  missed  another  mail,  but  the  culmination  came, 
and  I  awoke,  and  lo  I  was  safely  on  board.  I  am  glad 
to  be  so  far  on  my  way,  and  shall  be  yet  more  glad  when 
the  voyage  is  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  I'm  on  the  Congo 
once  again  ;  and  if  you  wish  me  Christmas  wishes — well, 
wish  me  quickly  there,  and  then  God's  help  to  do 
His  will/ 

On  January  18,  being  a  couple  of  days'  sail  from 
Banana,  Grenfell  wrote  to  Mrs.  Hartland,  giving  some 
particulars  of  his  tedious  voyage,  with  an  amusing 
account  of  the  appreciation  of  a  Christmas  pudding 
which  he  and  Mr.  Doke  owed  to  their  friend's  motherly 
kindness.  It  was  opened  with  their  letters  (received  at 
Cape  Palmas)  on  Christmas  Day,  was  incomparably 
superior  to  the  ship's  pudding,  so  good,  indeed,  that  they 
purposed  making  it  last  into  the  New  Year.     But  this 


136    The  Coming'  of  the  *  Peace' 

ideal  exceeded  their  capacity  for  temperance.  The 
pudding  disappeared  untimely,  *  for  the  very  good  reason 
that  we  could  not  be  content  with  one  visit  a  day.' 

In  a  postscript  written  after  arrival  at  Underhill,  and 
obviously  referring  to  a  present  for  his  little  daughter 
Peggy,  he  says,  '  The  Noah's  Ark  is  a  great  success. 
The  animals  are  periodically  laid  down  in  rows  to  go  to 
sleep,  the  lion  with  the  lamb,  and  the  cocks  and  hens  all 
mixed  up  with  foxes  and  wolves,  a  glorious  jumble,  such 
as  delights  the  infant  mind.' 

After  a  six  weeks'  voyage  the  missionaries  and  their 
company  landed  safely  at  Banana  on  January  21,  and 
the  company  was  considerable. 

Writing  from  Underhill,  February  2,  Grenfell  says — 

'  As  we  journeyed  along  the  coast  our  party  gradually 
increased,  for  at  Sierra  Leone  I  picked  up  twenty  Kru 
boys,  at  Cape  Palmas  I  secured  thirty  more,  and  at 
Cameroons  a  further  twenty  were  added  to  our  numbers. 
Among  these  latter  were  my  old  boy  Ti,  or  John,  and 
Sally's  mother  and  her  two  brothers — there  were  also 
three  married  couples  and  three  or  four  children,  so  we 
had  quite  a  mixed-up  sort  of  crowd  by  the  time  we 
reached  the  Congo.  Things,  however,  turned  out  very 
fortunately  for  us  at  Banana,  for  instead  of  making  a 
big  camp,  and  waiting  to  go  up  river  in  small  detach- 
ments, I  was  able  to  charter  the  "  Prins  Hendrick "  (a 
steamer  of  about  200  tons)  for  ;^iio,  and  take  up  our 
bag  and  baggage,  the  "  Peace  "  included,  all  in  one  trip. 
Our  new  station,  Underhill,  where  I  am  now  writing,  is 
about  ten  miles  higher  up  than  Musuko,  it  has  a  capital 
landing-place,  and  in  three  days  from  the  time  we 
finished  our  ocean  voyage  we  were  alongside  our  own 
wharf,  discharging  our  people  and  goods. 

'  It  was  very  fortunate  that  I  was  able  to  secure  a 


A  Rare  Chatterbox  137 

quick  passage  up  river,  for  had  I  been  compelled  to  wait 
(as  I  have  often  had  to  wait),  I  should  never  have  seen 
my  baby.  As  it  was,  I  found  her  fast  sinking,  and  by 
the  third  day  after  my  arrival  she  had  passed  away. 
The  fine  big  child,  about  which  I  had  heard  so  much, 
only  just  lived  long  enough  that  I  might  say  "  good-bye." 
My  home-coming,  as  you  may  readily  imagine,  was  a 
sad  one — Mamma  was  greatly  cut  up — poor  baby  had 
been  her  one  great  care  during  my  absence.  Baby  had 
been  sick  for  five  weeks,  and  Mamma  was  far  from  well, 
having  had  a  very  anxious  time  of  it.  Peggy,  however, 
is  blooming,  and  is  capering  round  fine,  and  the  loss  of 
her  sister  seems  to  rest  upon  her  shoulders  very  lightly. 
She  talks  Portuguese,  English  and  Congo  all  in  the  same 
breath,  and  is  a  rare  chatterbox.  .  .  . 

*  I  find  that,  as  Mr.  Crudgington  is  going  home  to  be 
married,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  stay  here  till  he  comes  out 
again.  I  am  rather  disappointed,  but  the  new  man  here 
is  not  equal  to  the  work,  and  wishes  to  go  up  country,  so 
he  goes  on  to  Mr.  Hartland,  at  Manyanga.  The  sending 
of  the  steamer  up  country  will  go  on  just  the  same. 
Mr.  Doke  goes  on  to  Bayneston,  to  receive  what  I  send 
on  to  him.  I  thought  of  going  on,  and  of  leaving  him 
at  this  end,  but  "  Man  proposes,  God  disposes." ' 

In  another  letter  of  the  same  date  he  says,  'Mr. 
Comber  and  Mr.  Bentley  are  at  the  Pool ;  Hartland 
and  Moolenaar  at  Manyanga,  shortly  to  be  joined  by 
Butcher.  Hughes  is  at  Bayneston,  whither  Doke  goes 
in  a  day  or  two.  Hartland  goes  to  England  soon  after 
he  completes  the  fourth  year,  say,  in  July  or  August,  by 
which  time  Crudgington  will  be  out  again,  and  I  shall  be 
free  to  go  up  country.' 

These  plans  were  strangely  disarranged.  Mr.  Doke 
never  went  to  Bayneston.    Two  days  prior  to  the  date  of 


138    The  Coming'  of  the  *  Peace' 

Gren  fell's  letter,  just  quoted,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Baynes  in 
jubilant  strain,  full  of  gratitude  for  the  providential 
mercies  of  the  voyage,  and  particularly  for  the  happy 
circumstances  which  enabled  Grenfell  to  hire  the  river 
steamer,  and  make  the  trip  to  Underbill  with  so  great 
convenience  and  despatch.  He  also  gave  a  bright 
description  of  his  environment  at  Underbill,  palpitating 
with  the  joy  of  living,  and  enclosed  a  pen-and-ink 
sketch,  by  his  own  hand,  of  the  landing  of  the  '  Peace ' 
loads — an  indication  of  the  vivacity  of  his  own  mind  as 
well  as  of  the  busy  scene. 

But  even  then  the  shadow  of  death  was  drifting 
toward  him.  A  week  later  he  was  stricken  down  by 
fever.  Yet  again,  a  week  later,  and  in  spite  of  all  that 
love  and  skill  could  do  for  him,  he  died,  murmuring, 
*  All  is  well,  so  well ! '  It  was  well  for  him  ;  but  for  his 
colleagues  the  bereavement  was  a  heavy  blow.  His 
geniality  and  ardour  had  elicited  love  and  high  expecta- 
tion, while  his  special  equipment  as  an  engineer  made 
him  of  peculiar  importance  to  the  mission  at  that  time. 

Upon  Grenfell  devolved  the  duty  of  breaking  the 
news  to  Mr.  Doke's  family  in  England.  The  task  wrung 
his  heart.  And,  writing  to  Mr.  Baynes  at  the  same  time, 
he  says,  *  To  know  him  was  to  love  him.  Working  and 
living  with  him  as  I  have  done  for  many  months  past,  I 
could  not  but  admire  him.  His  sterling  worth,  unobtru- 
sive devotion,  and  deep-seated  piety  made  me  feel  he 
was  specially  qualified  for  our  work  out  here.  But  he 
has  been  called  higher,  and  our  hearts  ache,  and  our  eyes 
are  full.' 

When  Mr.  Crudgington  returned  to  England  Grenfell 
settled  down  at  Underbill,  to  carry  on  the  ordinary  work 
of  the  station,  together  with  the  despatch  of  the  steamer 
loads,  the  pressure  of  which  special  business  was  greatly 


A  Run  Up-Countpy  139 

increased  for  him  by  Mr.  Doke's'  death.  His  heart  was 
up-country,  but  it  seemed  to  be  his  duty  to  hold  on  at 
the  shore  station  until  Mr.  Crudgington  should  return  to 
set  him  free.  Three  months  of  this  work  broke  his 
health.  Writing  in  April,  he  says,  *  I  have  suffered 
rather  severely  during  the  last  four  weeks  from  dysentery, 
and  it  is  leaving  me  very  weak,  though  I  am  happy  to 
say  that  I  am  getting  better.  I  feel  I  must  have  a  change, 
one  side  or  the  other,  and  if  I  can  only  manage  to  take  a 
run  up  country,  I  may  be  able  to  do  something  to  help  on 
the  transport  of  our  steamer.' 

The  timely  arrival  of  Mr.  Dixon  at  Underhill,  and 
his  willingness  to  take  charge  while  Grenfell  got  away, 
made  the  desired  journey  possible.  The  'run  up- 
country'  was  a  figure  of  speech,  for  he  was  so  weak 
that  he  had  to  be  carried  in  a  hammock. 

Prior  to  starting,  he  had  written  cheerily  of  his  hope 
of  soon  meeting  his  friend,  John  Hartland,  who,  while 
willing  to  stay,  was  to  be  constrained  to  take  furlough  in 
July  or  August.  This  hope  was  fulfilled  earlier  than  he 
had  forecast,  but  under  conditions  which  made  the  fulfil- 
ment a  heart-breaking  disappointment. 

At  Manyanga,  in  the  middle  of  April,  Hartland 
found  himself  so  weakened  by  fever  that  he  took  boat 
and  came  down  river  to  Bayneston,  arriving  on  April  21. 
Hughes,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  station  at  Bayneston, 
overborne  by  the  heavy  nursing  which  Hartland's  serious 
condition  entailed,  wrote  to  Butcher,  who  was  at  the 
camp  on  the  Luvu  river,  beseeching  him  to  hurry  on  to 
Bayneston.  With  fever  upon  him,  Butcher  started  im- 
mediately, and  by  dint  of  hard  walking  arrived  at 
Bayneston  the  next  day,  having  previously  despatched 
a  message  to  Grenfell,  who  had  left  Underhill  on  the 
27th.     The  message  reached  him  on  the  second  day  of 


I40    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

his  journey,  and  though  ill  himself,  he  pushed  on  with 
forced  marches,  arriving  at  Bayneston  on  May  i.  It 
was  at  once  apparent  to  him  that  Hartland,  whom 
Hughes  and  Butcher  had  'carefully  nursed  through 
ten  days  of  the  severest  form  of  dysentery,'  was  in  a 
dangerous  condition.  But  abatement  of  the  worst 
symptoms  gave  hope,  which  again  was  subdued  to  fear. 

After  further  fluctuations,  hope  was  abandoned  on 
May  10,  and  it  was  Grenfell's  duty  to  inform  his  friend 
that  his  day's  work  was  done.  '  I  shan't  easily  forget,' 
he  writes,  *  his  look,  as  he  gazed  at  us  and  said,  "  Well, 
I  am  not  afraid  to  die.  My  trust  is  in  Jesus.  Whosoever 
believeth  in  Him  hath  everlasting  life  ! "  A  little  while 
later  he  said,  "  After  four  years'  preparation,  and  just  as 
I  am  about  to  enter  upon  mission  work  proper,  it  seems 
strange  for  me  to  realize  that  my  work  is  done  :  but  He 
knows  best." ' 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  Comber  arrived 
unexpectedly,  and  most  opportunely,  for  the  affection 
of  these  two  men  for  one  another  was  intense.  They 
had  worked  together  in  the  home  country,  they  had 
shared  early  perils,  and  were  absolutely  one  in  their 
devotion  to  Christ  and  His  work  in  Africa.  Their  inter- 
course during  the  two  remaining  days  of  Hartland's  life 
was  very  tender  and  sacred,  and  the  letter  which  Comber 
wrote  to  Mrs.  Hartland  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
touching  in  all  our  missionary  records.  It  reveals  how 
the  dying  man's  gaze  was  absorbed  by  Christ ;  how  he 
turned  from  dear  thoughts  of  home  and  marriage  and 
happy  work,  to  the  dearer  thought  of  being  with  Him, 
and  seeing  Him  as  He  is.  His  last  words,  uttered  at 
the  final  moment,  were :  '  Christ  is  all  in  all ;  Christ  is 
all  in  all.  Let  me  go,  my  friends.  Don't  hold  me  back. 
Let  me  go,  Tom.     I  must  go.     I  watit  to  go  to  Him. 


Hartland's  Death  141 

"Simply  to  Thy  cross  I  cling."  Let  me  go.'  So  he 
passed  on. 

After  Hartland's  death  Grenfell  proceeded  with 
Comber  to  Manyanga,  where  many  things  required 
attention  and  adjustment.  And  while  at  Manyanga,  in 
consultation  with  his  honoured  colleague,  he  decided  to 
transfer  his  household  from  Underhill  to  Stanley  Pool. 
Early  in  June  he  is  back  at  Underhill,  and  after  a 
fortnight's  preparation  starts,  on  the  17th,  for  the  up- 
country  journey.  On  July  i  he  is  at  Bayneston,  and 
writes  to  Mrs,  Hartland —  . 

'After  so  long  a  silence  I  hardly  know  how  to  break 
it,  and  especially  as  such  sad  memories  cluster  around 
me  now.  I  am  writing  this  in  the  room  in  which  your 
dear  boy  bade  us  "  good-bye,"  and  just  about  the  time 
when  Comber's  letter  with  its  sorrowful  tidings  is  rending 
your  hearts  at  home.  These  facts  make  it  a  very  gloomy 
"  sitting  down  to  write,"  and  yet  not  altogether  gloomy, 
for  while  I  remember  how  stricken  your  hearts  must  be 
at  the  loss,  and  what  a  blow  it  is  to  the  Congo  Mission, 
none  of  us  who  were  with  John  in  his  last  days  can  fail 
to  be  strengthened  in  our  work  and  purposes  by  the 
manner  of  his  victorious  going  hence.  Although  Comber's 
letter  is  such  a  sorrowful  one,  you  must  be  greatly 
comforted  by  the  details  of  the  glorious  assurance  with 
which  your  dear  son  entered  in  where  so  many  fear  to 
tread — may  the  like  faith  and  joy  be  the  portion  of  all 
of  us ! 

'  I  cannot  tell  you  more  than  Comber  told  you  (and 
told  so  beautifully  we  all  felt) ;  I  can  only  say  how  we 
who  know  the  inmates  of  "  No.  34  "  have  often  thought 
and  spoken  about  you  all,  especially  during  the  past 
week,  when  we  have  expected  the  news  was  just  about 
reaching  you.     Our  prayers  have  been  and  still  are  that 


142    The  Coming  of  the  *  Peace' 

God  will  strengthen  your  hearts,  and  out  of  the  darkness 
bring  forth  light.  .  .  . 

*  You  will  be  wondering  how  it  is  I  am  able  to  leave 
Underbill ;  it  is  only  because  Dixon  consents  to  act  for 
me.  I  must  be  back  again  by  the  time  Crudgington  comes 
out,  to  turn  things  over  to  him.  Weeks  is  alone  at  San 
Salvador — Bentley  is  by  himself  at  the  Pool — Butcher 
is  in  charge  at  Manyanga — Moolenaar  is  here,  helping 
Hughes — Comber  is  on  his  way  back  from  a  visit  to  San 
Salvador,  and  I  hope  will  soon  overtake  me  on  my  way 
inland.  I  am  waiting  here  for  the  boat  to  come  down 
from  Manyanga,  and  expect  it  to  be  here  to-morrow. 

'  Our  transport  work  moves  slowly  along,  but  we  have 
managed  to  get  the  whole  of  the  hull  of  our  steamer  as 
far  as  this  point,  and  some  few  loads  have  gone  on  to 
Manyanga.  Three  caravans  have  gone  up  overland,  so 
we  are  hoping  to  have  the  land  route  as  well  as  the 
waterway  at  our  service.  This  will  greatly  help  us,  as 
there  are  loads  enough  at  Underbill  to  keep  the  boat 
fully  employed  for  eight  months,  without  counting  goods 
already  ordered  and  now  on  their  way  out.  July  22. 
Something  interrupted  me,  and  the  opportunity  I  take 
for  resuming  my  letter  is  found  here,  at  Ngombe 
Makwekwe,  opposite  the  Edwin  Arnold  river.  It  is 
Sunday,  and  we  are  in  camp  (T.  J.  Comber  and  our- 
selves), having  as  quiet  a  day  as  an  eminently  curious 
lot  of  natives  will  allow.  Miss  Peggy  is  a  great  "  curio," 
and  attracts  wondering  crowds.' 

A  visit  from  the  chief  cut  him  short  at  '  wondering 
crowds,'  and  the  letter  was  finished  at  Banana,  on 
August  16. 

This  journey  en  famille  created  no  small  sensation  in 
the  country-side. 

'Seeing  that  when  I  went  up  to  the  Pool  I  took  my 


The  Greatep  Wonder         143 

wife  and  child  with  me,  we  made  up  rather  a  startling 
caravan  for  the  natives.  Caravans  of  boxes  and  bales 
they  were  quite  accustomed  to,  but  a  household,  with  a 
lot  of  household  gear,  was  a  new  sensation.  Among  our 
impedimenta  we  counted  a  couple  of  milch  goats  (these 
were  a  great  help),  a  cage  of  Cochin  China  fowls  we 
wished  to  introduce,  a  cage  of  pigeons,  a  box  of  cuttings 
of  new  plants,  and  a  cat  and  a  dog.  This  last  was  a 
great  curio.  Smooth-haired  dogs  of  the  terrier  type  were 
common  enough,  but  a  little  woolly  beast  that  could 
scarcely  see  out  of  its  eyes — what  could  it  be  ?  "  Was 
it  some  new  kind  of  goat,  or  pig?"  Which  was  the 
greater  wonder,  Peggy,  or  her  little  dog,  is  a  moot-point. 
Sometimes  the  one,  sometimes  the  other. 

'  Poor  Peggy  was  tired  of  her  hammock  ride,  and  was 
heartily  glad  when  the  sixteen  days'  travelling  were  at 
an  end.  Very  often  by  breakfast  time  the  monotonous 
swing,  swing,  of  the  hammock  had  sent  her  to  sleep,  so 
when  we  camped  we  used  to  fix  the  hammock-pole  in 
the  branches  of  some  convenient  tree.  Breakfasting,  if 
it  happened  near  a  town,  was  always  a  source  of  interest  ; 
but  this  would  be  immeasurably  intensified  when,  upon 
awaking,  Peggy's  little  pale  face  made  its  appearance 
looking  over  the  hammock  side — the  hubbub  would  be 
simply  indescribable.  However,  we  safely  accomplished 
our  long  journey  without  any  special  incident.  This, 
perhaps,  will  seem  strange  to  you,  seeing  that  we  were 
travelling  in  romantic  Africa  ;  but  there's  a  lot  of  prosaic 
life  even  in  Africa.  The  prosiness  was  rather  disturbed, 
though,  one  morning,  for  we  were  turned  out  of  a  native 
hut  in  which  we  had  been  sleeping  by  hordes  of  driver 
ants,  and  this  long  before  daylight,  and  without  giving 
us  a  chance  to  more  than  half  dress  ourselves.  They 
were    quite    masters    of   the    situation    till    they   took 


144    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

themselves  off,  a  couple  of  hours  later.  Their  bites  are 
suggestive  of  hot  needles,  and  when  once  they  take  hold 
they  won't  let  go.  You  may  pull  their  bodies  off,  but 
they  will  still  hold  on  with  their  heads. 

'Another  break  in  the  monotony  occurred  near  the 
Pool.  It  was  time  to  get  up,  and  I  stretched  my  hand  from 
beneath  my  blankets  to  reach  the  matches,  proceeded  to 
strike  a  light,  and  discovered  lying  between  the  match- 
box and  the  candlestick  a  snake  about  four  feet  long. 
I  stretched  out  my  hand  again,  this  time  to  reach  a  small 
sword  I  kept  handy,  and  effectually  cut  Master  Snake's 
wanderings  short,  by  making  him  shorter  by  just  the 
length  of  his  head.  However,  this  was  the  end  of  the 
chapter  of  incidents — a  very  short  one  for  so  long  a 
journey,  but  happily  so.' 

Grenfell  arrived  at  the  Pool  on  July  27,  and  two  days 
later  started  down  to  the  coast  with  thirty  Kru  boys, 
workmen  whose  time  had  expired,  and  who  were  to  be 
paid  off,  and  sent  home  by  the  north-going  mail.  The 
itinerary  was  as  follows  :  '  After  a  walk  of  a  hundred 
miles  in  five  days,  I  reached  Manyanga.  A  boat  journey 
of  about  seventy  miles  took  me  to  Bayneston  ;  a  further 
walk  of  about  sixty  miles,  and  I  reached  Underbill  ; 
then  about  a  hundred  and  ten  miles  by  boat  brought 
me  here,  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  (Banana),  where  after 
paying  off  some  thirty  of  our  boys  whose  contracts  had 
expired,  I  am  waiting  to  send  them  off  by  steamer  to 
their  own  country.' 

Grenfell  had  come  down  river,  not  only  to  dismiss 
the  home-going  workmen,  but  also  that  he  might  go  to 
Loango,  a  hundred  miles  up  the  coast,  to  engage  more 
labourers.  After  waiting  nine  days  he  learned  that  the 
steamer  would  be  just  three  weeks  late.  This  delay 
chafed  him,  and  if  his  health  had  permitted  he  would 


A  Recalcitrant  Patient       145 

have  started  north,  overland.  But  he  was  staying  at  the 
Dutch  House,  whose  staff  of  a  hundred  workers  of  various 
orders  included  a  doctor.  He  was  miserably  ill  with 
dysentery,  though  he  was  disposed  to  make  as  light  as 
possible  of  the  fact.  But  the  doctor  took  him  in  hand, 
condemned  him  to  a  farinaceous  diet,  which  he  '  abomi- 
nated,' and  ordered  him  to  bed  for  a  week.  He  was  a 
recalcitrant  patient,  and  only  lay  up  for  two  days.  But 
it  seems  to  have  come  upon  him  that  the  enforced  holiday 
was  perhaps  a  good  thing ;  he  admits  that  he  has  had  a 
bad  time  during  the  last  six  months,  and  surmises  that 
his  stay  in  Africa  this  time  will  not  be  a  long  one. 
Meanwhile  he  beguiles  the  tedium  of  his  long  wait  by 
writing  letters  to  his  friends,  making  up  some  of  those 
arrears  of  correspondence  which  he  is  continually  lament- 
ing, and  for  which  he  often  makes  pathetic  and  elaborate 
apologies. 

His  ideal  in  the  matter  of  letter  writing  must  have 
been  singularly  high  and  exacting.  An  ordinary  mortal, 
studying  his  letters,  is  amazed  by  his  achievements  and 
bewildered  by  his  regrets.  It  was  quite  a  commonplace 
matter  for  him  to  sit  down,  wearied  with  much  labour, 
and  write  an  epistle  to  a  private  friend,  with  no  thought 
of  publication,  which  would  fill  ten  pages  of  this  book. 
Illness,  delay,  and  much  sorrow  give  a  doleful  turn  to 
some  of  his  outpourings  at  this  time,  though  usually  he 
recovers  his  buoyancy  before  the  screed  is  done.  It  often 
happens  in  Grenfell's  letters,  as  in  the  Psalms,  that  the 
soul's  despondency  is  relieved  by  expression,  and  the 
wail  of  a  momentary  pessimism  passes  into  the  strain  of 
confidence  and  praise.  Somebody  had  said  in  England, 
a  while  before,  that  Christ's  command,  '  Go  ye  into  all 
the  world'  was  as  binding  as  the  Decalogue.  This 
remark  stuck  in  Grenfell's  mind,  and   he  makes  some 

L 


146    The  Coming'  of  the  *  Peace' 

very  caustic  comments,  *  Nobody  will  allow  that  a  penny 
or  so  a  week  is  a  decent  compound  for  a  whole  command- 
ment. Who  would  not  be  a  very  respectable  Pharisee,  if 
the  Decalogue  could  be  arranged  for  at  that  rate  ?  Some 
of  the  Churches  do  right  nobly,  but  need  more  light,  a 
good  deal  more  light,  about  this  commandment.' 

In  a  letter  dated  Banana,  August  25,  having  briefly 
described  the  experiences  of  recent  months,  by  way  of 
excuse  for  long  silence,  he  writes — 

'  During  all  this  time  I've  been  actively  superintend- 
ing the  steamer  transport,  which  has,  I  am  thankful  to 
say,  proceeded  much  faster  than  any  of  us  had  ventured 
to  anticipate.  After  despatching  the  hull  from  Under- 
bill, I  went  up  to  Bayneston,  and  while  there  despatched 
the  greater  portion  overland  to  Manyanga,  then  hurried 
up  to  Manyanga  by  boat,  arriving  a  day  before  the 
carriers,  and  in  time  to  receive  them  there,  and  then  I 
was  able  to  start  a  lot  forward  to  the  Pool.  This  has 
involved  hard  work  for  us  all.  I  remember  one  day  at 
Bayneston  we  had  over  four  hundred  carriers,  more  than 
two  hundred  going  away  with  loads,  and  a  hundred 
and  ninety  coming  in.  The  result  of  all  this  is  that  we 
have  the  hull  of  our  steamer  and  a  good  deal  of  the 
machinery  at  its  destination  ;  and  if  I  were  only  able  to 
be  there,  or  the  engineer  whom  I  am  expecting  in  a 
couple  of  months'  time,  we  could  now  be  engaged  upon 
its  reconstruction.  But,  shorthanded  as  we  are,  the 
steamer  is  obliged  to  wait ;  however,  I  am  hoping  to  be 
back  at  the  Pool  in  October ;  I  promised  Comber  that 
if  all  went  well  I'd  be  back  in  September.  My  wife,  too, 
is  expecting  me  then.  Pushing  as  hard  as  I  like,  I  cannot 
be  back  in  September.  If  they  don't  send  us  help  soon, 
they  had  better  do  as  Bentley  suggests — sell  the  "  Peace," 
and   send  us  elsewhere — we  cannot  carry  on  with   our 


The  Missing"  Case  147 

present  staff.  If  they  let  us  drag  on  like  this,  they'll  be 
spared  the  expense  of  sending  us  far ;  some  of  us  will 
be  finding  resting-places  near  at  hand.  Two  of  the  men 
now  out  here,  miist  go  home  next  year,  and  though  we 
fellows  who  can  manage  to  hold  on  will  have  all  the 
more  to  do  for  the  time  being,  we  know  it's  the  only 
thing  to  be  done,  if  we're  to  hope  for  our  colleagues'  help 
in  the  future.  I'm  in  the  "dumps"  this  morning,  so 
forgive  my  "  Jeremiad." 

'But,  to  get  back  to  the  steamer  transport,  we've 
much  to  be  thankful  for;  things  have  run  along  at  a 
wondrous  rate,  considering  the  transport  facilities  we 
could  rely  upon  a  year  ago.  The  only  things  lost  out  of 
the  hundreds  of  packages  we've  sent  up-country  are  two 
boxes  of  tools ;  these  are  far  more  easily  replaced  than 
parts  of  the  steamer  would  be,  and  you  don't  know  how 
grateful  we  feel  that  nothing  more  serious  has  happened. 
These  were  stolen  by  a  couple  of  rascally  carriers,  who 
bolted  to  their  town  about  a  day's  march  off  the  road. 
Our  messenger  who  went  in  search  was  sent  about  his 
business  in  the  curtest  fashion,  everything  he  had  being 
taken  off  him.  These  same  tools  were  duplicates  of 
others  we  had  sent  out  per  "  Ethiopia,"  which,  you  may 
remember,  was  lost ;  so  I've  just  had  to  order  them  for 
the  third  time  !  I  said  we  had  lost  nothing  else  ;  but  on 
reaching  the  Pool  I  found  a  case  Pin  had  not  arrived, 
though  it  had  been  despatched  from  Manyanga  a  fort- 
night in  advance.  I  began  to  quake,  for  P  in  contained, 
I  knew,  one  of  the  crank  shafts.  For  about  a  week 
afterwards  I  had  "  P  one  hundred  and  eleven "  on  the 
brain,  till  one  day,  on  my  return  to  Manyanga,  I  met  it 
in  "  tow  "  of  a  couple  of  men.  I  sang  the  Doxology.  It 
appeared  its  being  a  bit  overweight  for  a  single  load  had 
resulted  in  its  finding  a  lodging  in  a  native  hut  till  a 


hS    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

couple    of    enterprising    spirits    ventured    to     grapple 
with  it.' 

In  the  same  letter,  having  severely  criticized  Portu- 
guese methods  of  Colonial  administration,  he  proceeds — 

'  If  I  don't  like  the  Portuguese,  neither  do  I  like  the 
high-handed  policy  of  the  Belgian  Expedition,  which 
seems  to  have  in  view  the  formation  of  some  big  concern 
after  the  model  of  the  East  India  Co.  They've  been 
most  unscrupulous,  even  in  these  the  days  of  small 
things — what  will  they  be  with  the  whole  thing  fully 
developed  ?  What  we  want  is  some  good  form  of 
administration  that  treats  all  nationalities  alike.  Our 
own  Government,  though  not  perfect,  is  the  best ;  but 
there's  no  hope  of  their  taking  the  matter  up.  I  wonder 
if  any  truly  international  administration  could  be  devised 
that  would  be  practicable  ^ 

'  When  I  get  away  to  the  Pool  this  time,  I  hope  it 
will  be  long  before  I  come  down  again,  and  I  trust  I 
shall  find  these  things  all  settled,  and — who  knows  ? — 
a  railway  commenced.  Then  farewell  to  the  incidents 
of  overland  tramping.  No  more  long  caravans  and 
dwelling  in  tents ;  our  Robinson  Crusoeing  will  be 
spoiled,  for  we  shall  be  able  to  get  civilized  dwellings 
even  at  the  Pool.' 

While  at  Banana,  Grenfell  caught  just  a  glimpse  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crudgington,  who  arrived  on  September  3, 
found  a  river  steamer  on  the  point  of  starting,  and  passed 
on  immediately  to  Underbill. 

That  day  provided  him  with  an  experience  which 
must  have  been  a  sensational  relief  from  the  monotony 
of  his  tarrying.  He  suddenly  found  himself  one  of  the 
chief  actors  in  a  little  drama,  sufficiently  romantic.  He 
shall  tell  the  story  in  his  own  words.  '  By  the  same  mail 
(that  which   brought  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crudgington)  came 


A    FUNERAL    DANCE,    BOPOTO. 
Photo:  Rev.  \Vm.  Forfcitt. 


A    DANCING    WOMAN    AND    HER   ATTENDANTS. 
Photo:  Rev.  Win.  Forfcitt. 


Wanted,  a  Pilot  149 

out  a  gentleman  and  two  ladies,  for  the  Livingstone 
Inland  Mission,  the  two  latter  to  be  married  to  two  men 
out  here.  Banana  is  scarcely  a  nice  place  for  ladies  to 
stay  in,  so  I  made  up  my  mind  to  try  and  find  their 
Mukimvika  Station  (eight  or  ten  miles  away  among  the 
creeks),  and  place  them,  as  it  were,  in  their  own  territory. 

'  At  one  o'clock  we  started  —  plenty  of  time,  I 
thought,  to  get  back  again  by  dark  ;  but  instead  of 
being  back  again  we  were  wandering  amid  a  labyrinth 
of  mangrove  swamps.  We  could  hear  people,  but  as 
soon  as  we  shouted  they  became  quiet  from  fear,  and 
we  could  not  get  any  one  to  pilot  us.  At  seven  o'clock 
we  gave  up  the  search  for  Mukimvika.  We  arranged 
our  rugs,  and  prepared  to  make  a  night  of  it.  We  had 
only  a  handful  of  biscuits  with  us,  no  tea,  nor  had  we 
eaten  anything  since  breakfast. 

'  As  we  could  not  find  the  Mission  Station,  we  must 
needs  find  some  solid  ground  for  the  soles  of  our  feet. 
We  had  spent  six  hours  in  the  boat,  and  the  prospect  of 
an  all-night  imprisonment  for  our  four  selves  and  a  crew 
of  eight  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  Well,  we  wandered 
up  and  we  wandered  down,  but  no  landing-place  could 
we  discover.  At  last,  when  it  was  nearing  nine  o'clock, 
and  we  were  nearly  giving  up,  we  saw  a  light,  and  most 
marvellously  found  a  pilot.  We  could  scarce  believe  he 
was  in  earnest.  However,  he  put  one  foot  in  the  boat, 
and  then  seemed  to  deliberate.  You  can't  imagine 
how  anxiously  we  waited  to  see  what  he  would  finally 
do.  There  we  were,  hungry,  tired  and  cramped,  and 
whether  we  made  a  night  of  it,  a  dozen  of  us  in  a  rowing 
boat,  all  depended  upon  the  getting  in  of  our  dusky 
pilot.  At  last  in  he  got ;  it  took  him  five  minutes  ;  but 
he  had  not  failed  us,  and  we  rejoiced  with  great  joy. 

'  But  a  minute  more,  and  he  was  out  again — how  the 


150    The  Coming'  of  the  *  Peace' 

thermometer  fell !  Happily  it  was  groundless  fear.  He 
had  stepped  out  only  to  push  the  boat  off  the  bank,  and 
in  he  sprang  again.  A  quarter  of  an  hour's  pulling,  and 
we  landed  for  the  three  miles  of  walking  still  left,  and  by 
ten  o'clock  we  were  waking  Mr.  X.  up  out  of  his  sleep, 
to  greet  the  lady  he'd  said  "  good-bye  "  to  two  years  and 
a  half  ago.  He  had  no  idea  of  her  coming  out.  There  had 
been  some  talk  of  it  a  year  ago,  but  it  had  been  given 
up.  Was  it  not  a  shock  for  him  ?  Poor  fellow,  he  had 
to  sit  down  and  collect  his  wits  a  bit  before  he  was 
answerable  for  what  he  did.  But  the  cook  was  soon 
roused  up  to  prepare  a  wedding  feast.  We  were  too 
hungry  to  be  particular.  And  after  the  feast,  and  just 
before  midnight,  I  tied  the  knot.  That's  yesterday's 
little  history,  and  with  it  I  will  wind  up  my  letter.' 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE    COMING    OF    THE    'PEACE'— 
Continued 

Stopped  in  a  Journey  by  Armed  Natives— Death  of  Mr.  Butcher- 
Life  at  Stanley  Pool— Story  of  an  Adjutant— Love  Affairs  of 
NIemvo  and  Lungu— A  Glorious  Breakfast— Death  of  Quentin 
Thomson,  Hartley,  and  Two  Engineers— Death  of  Grenfell's 
Father— The  '  Peace '  put  together— Native  Workmen- Launch 
of  the  '  Peace '—Letter  to  Mr.  Barnaby— His  Appreciation. 

ON  his  voyage  to  Loango,  the  comparative  apathy  of 
the  Churches  at  home  toward  missionary  work 
was  still  weighing  on  Grenfell's  mind,  but  his  faith  in 
the  cause  and  the  Master  gave  him  cheer.  His  quest  of 
work-people  at  Loango  was  successful.  The  return 
journey  to  Banana  was  made  overland,  and  one  episode 
of  the  march  was  recorded,  some  months  later. 

'  I  don't  think  I  told  you  of  an  incident  which 
occurred  on  my  way  overland  from  Loango  to  Banana, 
three  months  ago.  I  had  managed  to  get  more  than 
forty  boys,  and  was  on  the  fifth  day  of  my  return  when 
we  encountered  a  would-be  very  important  personage, 
who  took  exception  to  my  folk  singing  as  they  jogged 
along — rather  boisterous  singing,  I  confess,  just  some- 
thing to  keep  their  spirits  up.  I  took  no  notice.  After 
awhile  he  became  more  importunate,  and  for  the  sake  of 
peace  I  told  the  boys  to  be  quiet  till  we  had  passed  the 
villages  which  "our  friend"  said  would  be  disturbed  if  we 


152    The  Coming'  of  the  *  Peace' 

did  not  desist.  We  went  on  a  little  farther,  when  he 
halted  our  caravan,  and  said  we  must  go  down  a  certain 
path.  I  immediately  jumped  out  of  my  hammock, 
asked  him  if  I  was  his  slave,  and  told  him  that  I  should 
please  myself.  Previously  I  had  no  particular  choice  in 
the  matter,  but  now  of  course  I  turned  from  the  path  he 
wanted  me  to  take,  and  passed  along  the  other. 

'  All  went  on  as  usual  for  half  an  hour,  when  we  heard 
people  following,  and  in  a  moment  or  two  about  a  dozen 
men  with  guns  had  overtaken  us  and  brought  us  to  a 
stand,  threatening  the  direst  penalties  if  we  did  not  at 
once  retrace  our  steps,  bringing  their  muskets  to  the 
ready,  and  unpleasantly  close  to  some  of  our  heads. 

*  One  gentleman  in  particular  honoured  me  with  his 
attention,  leaving  only  a  foot  or  so  between  the  muzzle 
of  his  gun  and  my  face.  I  did  what  I  could  to  appease 
the  fears  of  my  boys  (we  had  nothing  more  desperate 
than  a  table  knife  among  the  forty  of  us),  and  told  the 
natives  it  was  no  use  threatening  my  boys,  since  it  was 
not  their  matter ;  they  had  simply  come  because  I  had 
told  them.  As  for  myself,  as  they  seemed  to  wish  it, 
I  would  go  back  to  Mangooa  Mazunda's  with  them, 
without  troubling  them  to  make  a  carcase  of  me.  So 
we  went  back,  and  enjoyed  a  nice  howling  match.  It 
made  a  great  day  for  them  to  have  brought  a  white  man 
and  forty  odd  Loango  men  back  into  their  town  by  the 
mere  prowess  of  their  arms  ;  so  the  people  took  up  the 
howling,  and  we  had  a  particularly  cheerful  reception. 

'  At  last  we  reached  the  chief's  lumbu  (or  enclosure 
round  his  house).  At  the  entrance  I  encountered 
Mangooa  Mazunda  himself,  and  at  once  put  the  question, 
*'  Did  you  send  these  people  after  me  ? "  He  emphatically 
disavowed  any  part  in  the  affair.  So  I  said,  *'  Well,  your 
people  have  brought  me  back,  and  they  must  now  carry 


Sunday  Tpavelling^  153 

me  to  the  point  where  they  overtook  me  ; "  and  I 
proceeded  to  read  the  old  fellow  such  a  lesson  about  the 
enormity  of  his  having,  through  his  people,  laid  hands 
upon  a  white  man,  that  he  shook  in  his  shoes — at  least 
he  would  have  done,  if  he'd  had  shoes  on.  So  it  was 
arranged  that  the  young  man  who  was  so  important  in 
his  own  estimation,  and  the  gentleman  who  favoured  me 
with  his  particular  attention  in  the  matter  of  the  musket 
muzzle,  should  carry  my  hammock.  And  they  carried 
me,  not  only  to  the  point  from  which  they  made  me 
return,  but  an  equal  distance  beyond.  Did  not  my  boys 
shout,  to  make  up  for  lost  time  ?  It  was  very  comical  to 
see  the  change  that  had  come  over  the  conquering 
braves  and  their  cheering  friends,  and  very  gratifying 
that  nothing  worse  came  of  it.' 

On  October  21  Grenfell  writes  in  camp  on  the  way 
up  to  Stanley  Pool — 

'  It  is  now  Sunday,  7  p.m.  I'm  in  my  tent  sitting 
on  my  camp-bed,  with  my  writing  gear  on  my  knees. 
I'm  waiting  for  dinner — some  boiled  goat  which  is 
being  cooked  at  the  camp  fire.  I'm  rather  tired,  for 
although  it  is  Sunday  I've  been  travelling  all  day  in  the 
boat.  How  is  it  you  are  travelling  on  Sunday }  you'll 
say.  Well,  I  must  begin  by  referring  you  to  my  last 
letter,  from  somewhere  on  the  coast,  I  think,  when  I  was 
going  to  get  workmen.  In  this  letter  I  fancy  I  tried  to 
explain  that  I'd  only  come  down  on  business,  and  was 
going  to  hurry  back  at  once.  Illness  at  Banana  helped  to 
delay  me  in  starting  for  Loango,  and  when  I  got  back  to 
Underhill  I  was  delayed  again,  partly  because  Dixon, 
poor  fellow,  had  been  compelled  to  leave  everything  for 
me  to  square  up  with  Crudgington,  and  to  go  to  England 
very  sick.  So  sick,  indeed,  that  he  could  not  help 
himself,  and   I  was  compelled  to  send  John  (you  will 


154    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

remember  him  as  Ti)  with  him  to  England.  Of  course, 
John  was  only  too  glad  of  the  opportunity,  though  I 
could  ill  spare  him. 

'Another  cause  of  delay  was  a  serious  illness  of  Mrs. 
Crudgington  for  two  days  (loth  and  i  ith  of  this  month)  ; 
she  was  quite  delirious  with  fever,  and  Crudgington  and 
I  both  began  to  despair  of  her  getting  better,  but  she 
has  been  mercifully  spared.  However,  I  at  last  managed 
to  start,  but  had  only  got  four  hours'  distance  when 
I  received  news  of  poor  Butcher  being  seriously  ill. 

'  Hurrying  on  as  fast  as  I  could,  I  reached  Bayneston 
on  Friday,  only  to  learn  that  Butcher  died  on  the  day 
I  first  received  news  of  his  sickness.  This  left  Man- 
yanga  without  a  missionary,  and  I  felt  compelled  to 
start  on  again  the  next  morning,  to  stop  the  gap ;  it 
being  a  serious  matter  to  our  whole  line  of  stations  if 
the  communication  is  broken  at  one  point.  And  here  I 
am  on  the  second  evening  of  my  journey  from  Bayneston, 
encamped  after  a  long  pull  in  the  boat,  on  my  way 
to  Manyanga,  where  poor  Butcher  was  buried  just  a 
week  ago. 

*  Manyanga,  October  30.  My  letter  was  interrupted 
by,  "  Chop's  ready,  sir,"  so  I've  now  to  begin  again,  nine 
days  later.  In  a  day  and  a  half  after  writing  the  fore- 
going I  reached  this  place,  and  found  things  dreadfully 
muddled  up.  A  few  busy  days,  and  I  managed  to  evolve 
something  like  order  out  of  chaos,  and  on  Saturday  last 
I  was  cheered  by  seeing  Bentley  and  Moolenaar  come 
down  the  hill  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  a  mile 
away.  I  could  recognize  them  easily  through  the  field- 
glass,  and  was  greatly  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  being 
released,  that  I  might  pursue  my  journey  to  the  Pool — 
for  of  course  I  could  not  have  left  this  station  till  some 
one  came  to  take  charge.     Moolenaar  starts  to-day,  to 


Perils  of  Loneliness  155 

go  and  help  Hughes  at  Bayneston  ;  Bentley  stops  here 
for  a  few  months,  though  he  ought  to  go  home,  and  was 
preparing  for  it.     I  go  on  to  the  Pool  to-morrow. 

'  That  we  should  have  to  work  so  big  a  mission  with 
so  few  men  is  indeed  a  sad  reflection  upon  the  enthu- 
siasm of  Christians  at  home.     Single-handed,  as  four  of 
our  stations  are  at  this  moment,  who  can  be  surprised  at 
disasters  ?     Humanly  speaking,  if  poor  Butcher  had  had 
an  experienced  colleague,  he  would  have  pulled  through. 
But  with  the  work  of  the  place  on  his  own  shoulders,  and 
not  being  able  to  prescribe  for  himself  (delirious  fever 
patients,  how  can  they  do  so?),  the  only  result  to  be 
anticipated  was  that  which  has  so  disastrously  followed. 
Butcher  was  a  strong,  hardy  fellow  physically,  and  one 
of  the  most  promising  of  us,  in  the  matter  of  health. 
He  was  a  really  good  fellow  for  the  work,  occupied  a 
very  difficult   position,  and    did   the  work   splendidly. 
We  relied   implicitly   upon  his  managing  ability,  and 
there's  a  lot  of  "managing"  required  in  a  place  like 
this,  among  "  rowdy  "  natives.     How  we  are  to  replace 
him  has  been  a  matter  of  the  greatest  anxiety.     I  must 
go   to   look   after  steamer  affairs.     Bentley   ought   to 
go  home   for  his  health's  sake,   and   for   the  sake  of 
printing  a  grammar  and  a  dictionary,  works   of  the 
greatest  importance. 

*  Here  we  are  scarcely  knowing  which  way  to  turn, 
and  I  only  wish  I  could  see  a  speedy  way  out  of  our 
difficulties.  If  more  men  don't  soon  come,  the  Congo 
Mission  will  collapse,  and  the  work  that  has  cost  so 
much  will  be  thrown  away.  But  it  can't  be  that  there 
are  no  young  men  able  and  willing  to  fill  the  vacancies. 
Three  men  dead,  and  one  invalided  home ;  and  as  yet 
no  new  blood  out  here.  Two,  I  believe,  are  on  the  way  ; 
that's  better  than  nothing,  but  two  men  to  stop  four  gaps  ! 


156    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

'  I  must  leave  off,  that  I  may  write  a  few  lines  to  Mr. 
Baynes,  and  the  boat  is  already  waiting  to  take  Moolenaar 
to  the  other  side.' 

A  letter  dated  Stanley  Pool,  December  10,  gives 
some  account  of  life  and  work  at  Stanley  Pool. 

*  I  think  I  just  managed  to  scratch  you  a  line  or  two 
about  my  having  reached  the  Pool  five  weeks  ago,  and 
about  poor  Butcher's  death.  Last  week  we  received  the 
news  that  Sidney  Comber  and  Ross  were  on  the  coast, 
and  might  be  expected  up-country  at  an  early  date. 
We  are  even  now,  with  these  two  men,  worse  off  than 
when  I  came  out  in  January,  for  then  our  total  was 
eleven.  Since  then  three  have  died,  and  Dixon  has 
gone  home,  so  that  all  told  we  are  only  nine  now,  and 
in  a  few  weeks  shall  be  reduced  to  eight,  as  Bentley  is 
most  likely  starting  off  home  by  next  mail.  I  do  hope 
there  will  soon  be  more  men  to  the  front.  Two  of  us  at 
the  Pool  here  are  quite  unequal  to  the  work. 

*As  yet  we  have  heard  no  news  of  the  engineer, 
though  he  was  applied  for  while  Crudgington  was  at 
home,  and  was  promised  out  at  once.  No  engineer 
being  forthcoming,  I  have  put  one  of  the  engines 
together,  and  as  soon  as  the  next  caravan  is  in  shall 
be  able  to  finish  the  other ;  we  have  also  commenced 
the  boiler.  I  have  also  put  a  printing  press  together, 
and  when  the  type,  which  is  now  on  the  way  up,  reaches 
us,  we  are  hoping  to  print  a  few  Congo  leaflets.  Our 
school  is  prospering  ;  we  have  nearly  twenty  boys.  At 
first  people  could  not  understand  our  wanting  boys  to 
teach,  and  were  suspicious.  They  seem  to  have  over- 
come their  suspicions  in  a  measure,  and  more  boys  are 
promised  as  soon  as  we  are  ready  ;  so  we  are  building  a 
new  house  for  them,  and  a  schoolroom  as  well.  You 
can  easily  understand,  therefore,  that  we  are  busy  enough. 


A  Zoolog>ical  Story  157 

'  These  young  colts  need  a  lot  of  managing.  Belonging 
as  they  do  to  a  wild  set,  they  will  take  a  lot  of  gentle 
breaking  in  before  they  run  easily  in  harness.  The 
reins  need  to  be  very  cautiously  pulled,  or  they'd  be  off 
to  their  homes.  They  are  a  much  wilder  race  of  people 
here.  Everybody  carries  a  spear  or  a  huge  knife,  and 
most  of  them  have  their  faces  made  hideous  with  white, 
yellow,  red  and  blue  chalk.  The  language  too  is  very 
different,  resembling  much  more  closely  the  Cameroons 
language.  People  from  the  far  interior,  three  hundred 
or  four  hundred  miles,  come  down  in  their  canoes  to  sell 
ivory,  and  they  all  make  a  point  of  coming  up  to  our 
place,  to  have  a  look  at  the  precious  baby.  White  men 
are  no  novelty  now,  but  a  white  man's  piccaninny  ! ' 

There  follows  a  zoological  story  of  extraordinary 
interest,  captivating  to  the  minds  of  children,  and 
suggestive  to  their  elders  of  serious  reflections.'  The 
story  was  first  publicly  told  in  England  by  Mr.  Comber  ; 
and  pardonable  incredulity,  on  the  part  of  the  audience' 
contended  with  respect  for  the  story-teller's  approved 
veracity.  The  issue  of  the  struggle  was  not  always  a 
foregone  conclusion.  In  his  book,  '  Pioneering  on  the 
Congo,'  Dr.  Bentley  recounts  the  incident,  with  the 
circumstantial  detail  of  an  eye-witness.  The  curious 
reader  who  takes  the  trouble  to  compare  Bentley's 
version  with  Grenfell's,  will  find  it  interesting  and 
instructive  to  observe  that  the  accounts  of  two  perfectly 
honest  narrators,  agreeing  absolutely  as  to  the  main 
facts,  may  yet  be  marked  by  minor  discrepancies  :  a 
reflection  applicable  to  documents  more  august. 

There  is  another  curio  here  in  the  shape  of  a  big 
adjutant-bird,  a  fellow  who  stands  four  feet  high,  and 
has  a  wonderful  appetite.  Fish,  bones,  leather  (or,  at 
least,  sun-dried  goats'  skin,  as  hard  almost  as  leather) 


158    The  Coming'  of  the   'Peace' 

are  all  alike  palatable.  He  had  a  rare  feast  one  day  off 
a  pet  monkey  of  Bentley's,  which  died  and  which  he 
swallowed  whole.  Dead  monkey  not  being  forthcoming 
every  day,  he  went  for  a  live  kitten,  or  half-grown  cat, 
and  swallowed  it.  The  boys  raised  a  shout :  "  He's 
swallowed  pussy,"  and  sure  enough  muffled  mewing 
came  from  the  region  of  his  capacious  maw.  His  great 
jaws  were  opened  in  quest,  but  no  glimpse  of  pussy. 
Another  attempt,  and  his  jaws  being  nearly  rent,  Mr. 
Comber  just  caught  sight  of  pussy's  tail,  and  managed 
to  get  hold  of  it ;  then  a  better  hold  ;  and,  up  came 
pussy,  alive.  Yes,  and  is  alive  to  this  day,  though  it  is 
nearly  three  weeks  ago  since  it  happened.  And  it's  all 
true,  though  I  must  confess  it  looks  like  "  fibs."  * 

There  is  a  sequel  to  this  story.  Years  after,  in  an 
address  to  children  Grenfell  remarked  that  missionaries 
hardly  dared  tell  some  of  their  experiences,  lest  they 
should  be  charged  with  fabrication,  and  referred  to  the 
doubts  awakened  by  Comber's  story  of  the  adjutant- 
bird.  Then  he  went  on  to  give  some  further  and 
apposite  information  concerning  the  rescued  cat. 

A  traveller,  a  doctor,  visited  Stanley  Pool,  heard 
the  story,  saw  the  cat,  and  was  so  much  interested  that 
he  received  the  animal  as  a  present,  and  went  away  the 
proud  possessor  of  one  of  the  greatest  curiosities  in  the 
world.  His  pride  was  short-lived.  The  cat  became  a 
night-mare.  Her  malign  influence  damaged  his  reputa- 
tion. Of  course  he  told  the  story,  and  produced  the 
evidence.  But  nobody  believed  him.  The  truthful  man 
was  accounted  an  outrageous  liar,  and  smarting  beneath 
the  scorn  of  his  friends,  he  came  to  wish  that  he  had 
never  seen  the  cat  or  heard  the  story. 

Early  in  January  Grenfell  heard  from  Mr.  Baynes 
that  the  engineer  appointed  to  reconstruct  the  '  Peace,* 


Coy  Lovers  159 

would  sail  in  November  or  December.  He  had  put  the 
two  engines  together,  but  assuming  that  the  engineer 
would  prefer  to  commence  the  work  in  his  own  way, 
refrained  from  starting  on  the  reconstruction  of  the  ship. 
He  also  mentions  the  return  of  John,  formerly  Ti,  who 
had  accompanied  Mr.  Dixon  to  England.  John  only 
remained  in  England  eight  days,  but  in  this  brief  period 
his  eyes  were  wonderfully  opened  and  his  ideas  greatly 
enlarged.  About  this  time  also,  the  whole  Mission 
seems  to  have  been  much  exercised  by  the  love  affairs 
of  Nlemvo  and  Lungu.  Nlemvo,  being  in  love  with 
Lungu,  had  made  one  of  the  quickest  marches  on  record 
from  Manyanga  to  Stanley  Pool,  that  he  might  put  the 
question,  and  make  his  election  sure  before  starting  for 
England  with  Mr.  Bentley.  Preliminaries  were  quickly 
arranged,  and  it  was  only  necessary  that  the  young 
people,  who  had  not  seen  each  other  for  three  months, 
should  meet  and  observe  the  formalities  of  betrothal. 

They  were  good  young  people,  and  the  missionaries 
were  sympathetic  and  approving.  But  extraordinary 
bashfulness,  now  on  one  side,  now  on  the  other,  made 
the  business  extremely  difficult  to  negotiate,  and  Mr. 
Comber  and  the  Grenfells  were  at  their  wits'  end. 
In  the  midst  of  things,  Lungu  precipitately  withdrew. 
She  was  subsequently  persuaded  to  wait  for  Nlemvo 
in  a  room  in  the  Grenfells'  house.  But  Nlemvo  failed 
to  appear,  and  being  sought  and  found,  confessed  that 
he  could  not  come  because  Mr.  Grenfell  was  writing 
in  the  next  room.  Finally  a  meeting  was  arranged, 
*  under  the  verandah.'  Nlemvo  came  ;  and  when  it 
transpired  that  Lungu  had  secured  from  him  a  promise 
to  send  her  a  pair  of  earrings  and  an  English  dress, 
all  doubts  of  the  validity  of  the  engagement  were 
dismissed. 


i6o    The  Coming  of  the  ^ Peace' 

On  January  28  Grenfell  started  for  a  preliminary 
exploration  of  the  river  above  Stanley  Pool,  in  a  steel 
boat  twenty-six  feet  long,  with  a  crew  of  five.  The 
story  of  this  remarkable  journey,  which  occupied  five 
weeks,  will  be  told  in  detail  in  his  own  words  in  the 
next  chapter.  In  a  private  letter,  dated  '  Congo  River, 
Central  Africa,  Sunday,  Feb.  17,  1884  (somewhere 
about  18°  30'  East  Longitude,  and  1°  o'  South  Latitude), 
in  camp,  under  the  shade  of  great  trees,  between  a 
sand-bank  and  a  reef  of  rocks  ' — he  gives  an  interesting 
and  vivid  description  of  his  surroundings,  and  becomes 
a  little  rapturous  about  a  glorious  breakfast.  Surmising 
that  his  correspondent  will  deprecate  such  enthusiasm 
about  mere  victuals,  he  goes  on  :  *  Well,  I  can  only  say, 
You  just  come  out  here,  and  live  for  three  weeks  in  a 
boat  twenty-six  feet  long,  and  see  if  when  you  got 
a  good  meal  you  would  not  mark  the  day.'  In  the 
same  letter  he  writes :  *  I  don't  know  whether  you 
understand  why  I  undertook  the  journey.  It  was 
because  the  whole  of  the  steamer  being  at  the  Pool, 
and  the  engineer  due  to  arrive  in  a  month  or  six  weeks' 
time,  I  did  not  care  to  go  on  farther  with  the  work 
of  reconstruction,  feeling  that  a  professional  man  would 
like  to  have  as  little  as  possible  of  an  amateur's  tinker- 
ing to  do  with.  So  I  thought  I  would  take  advantage 
of  the  time  and  run  up  river,  and  become  acquainted 
in  some  measure  with  the  water  we  should  have  to 
navigate.' 

The  journey  was  a  great  achievement  and  a  great 
success.  But  the  home-coming  was  unspeakably  sorrow- 
ful. '  It  was  a  sad  welcome  that  awaited  me  at  the  Pool. 
Terrible  tidings  of  death  and  illness  had  just  arrived, 
and  as  Comber  went  out  to  have  the  flag  hoisted  at 
half-mast,  he  spied  my  boat  in  the  distance  just  rounding 


Heavy  Tiding*s  i6i 

KalHna  Point,  so,  not  wishing  to  distress  me  with  the 
dismal  signal,  he  ran  the  flag  right  up^    By  the  time 
I  had  reached  the  landing-place  he  was  there  to  meet 
me,  and  gradually  unfolded  such  a  list  of  evil  tidings 
as  never  fell  upon  my  poor  head  in  so  short  a  time 
before.  .  .  .    Crudgington    and  his  wife  both   seriously 
sick,  making  the  possibility  of  their  return  to  England 
a  contingency  to  be  provided  for,  by  one  of  the  new 
men  being  stationed  with  him,   instead  of  coming  up 
country :  Hughes  just  recovering  from  a  serious  illness 
at  Bayneston  :  Ross  so  sick  at  Manyanga  that  Comber 
had  to  start  off  immediately  to  send  him  home,  if  it 
were  not  already  too  late  :  Quentin  Thomson  dead  at 
Victoria  :  the  two  engineers  sent  out  for  the  "  Peace  " 
both  dead,  and  the  new  missionary  Hartley  dead  also. 
Then,  after  I  had  been  in  the  house  a  couple  of  hours, 
and  was  beginning  to  open  my  letters,  Comber  told  me 
that  my  poor  Father  had  gone  too.  .  .  .  My  condition 
you  can  better  imagine  than  I  can  describe. 

*  But  we  have  not  lost  heart.  We  cannot  but  believe 
more  help  will  be  speedily  forthcoming.  Such  trials  do 
not  kill  the  faith  or  quench  the  ardour  of  Christians, 
and  we  feel  sure  the  friends  at  home  will  redouble  their 
efforts  on  our  behalf.  Of  course,  it  is  very  disappointing 
to  have  our  plans  all  knocked  on  the  head  for  the  time, 
and  for  Mr.  Comber  to  have  to  go  down  to  Manyanga, 
instead  of  up  to  Lukolela,  as  he  would  have  done  next 
week,  had  all  gone  well.  But  we  dare  not  grumble. 
Who  are  we,  that  we  should  have  been  spared — yes, 
more  than  spared,  even  blessed  with  health  and  strength, 
while  so  many  have  had  to  give  up  the  battle } ' 

The  sad  deaths  of  the  two  engineers  and  the  urgent 
need  of  the  ship  for  the  purposes  of  the  Mission,  con- 
strained Grenfell  to  throw  aside  all  compunctions  about 

M 


i62    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

*  amateur  work '  or  *  tinkering,'  and  to  proceed  to  put 
the  *  Peace  *  together  as  God  and  his  coloured  workmen 
might  help  him.  The  name  of  God  is  not  lightly 
introduced  in  this  connection.  Grenfell  once  said  that 
he  thought  the  '  Peace  '  had  been  prayed  together. 

On  May  lO  he  reports  progress,  in  the  following 
letter  to  Mr.  Baynes  : — 

'  Stanley  Pool.  It  is  Saturday  afternoon  (our  work- 
people's half-holiday  for  washing  their  clothes),  and,  as  I 
am  not  so  tired  as  I  usually  find  myself  after  a  whole 
day's  work  on  the  "  Peace,"  I  shall  take  advantage  of  the 
opportunity  to  write  a  note  to  let  you  know  we  have  com- 
pleted the  important  stage  marked  by  the  putting  of  the 
boiler  and  machinery  on  board.  The  hull  had  already 
been  tested  and  found  watertight,  and  we  have  just  had 
steam  up  in  the  boiler,  and  all  its  many  joints  have 
proved  perfectly  sound.  I  feel,  in  accomplishing  so 
much,  that  we  have  made  distinct  progress,  of  which 
you  will  be  glad  to  be  informed — such  progress  as 
brings  us  within  a  measurable  distance  of  the  end. 
Another  week,  I  expect,  will  finish  the  deck  ;  by  the 
same  time,  too,  the  woodwork  will  have  made  con- 
siderable progress — the  past  week  has  in  part  been 
devoted  to  its  preparation  for  being  fixed.  The  wood- 
work, as  you  will  easily  imagine,  has  suffered  severely 
during  its  long  overland  transport  of  250  miles,  and  is 
giving  us  a  lot  of  trouble  to  make  **  ship-shape  "  again  ; 
the  time  it  will  yet  take  is  rather  an  uncertain  problem, 
but  I  do  not  doubt  that  by  the  time  you  get  this  the 
"  Peace  "  will  be  ready  for  the  water. 

'  If  God  blesses  our  efforts  during  the  coming  weeks 
as  He  has  during  the  past  seven  since  the  keel  was 
laid,  Midsummer  will  find  our  work  waiting  for  an 
opportunity   to   launch.      Unfortunately,  the  time  will 


The  Work  Half  Done        163 

be  unsuitable,  as  it  will  be  that  of  our  lowest  water. 
At  the  present  moment  the  height  of  the  river  would 
allow  of  the  launch  ;  but,  as  the  fall  will  be  sure  to 
commence  in  a  day  or  two,  we  shall  be  compelled  to 
wait  till  the  close  of  September  or  early  October.  By 
that  time  I  hope  our  strength  will  be  such  as  to  allow  of 
our  taking  advantage  of  the  facilities  we  shall  have  for 
pushing  ahead  ;  for,  as  you  do  not  need  to  be  told,  my 
dear  Mr.  Baynes,  at  the  present  moment  it  is,  and 
indeed  for  some  time  will  be,  impossible  to  do  so. 

'  That  we  are  so  far  and  so  well  through  more  than 
the  worst  half  of  our  work  is  a  cause  for  great  thank- 
fulness, and  I  trust  that  our  expectations  of  a  successful 
termination  will  be  realized.  One  of  my  kind  friends, 
without  knowing  what  discouragements  were  in  store 
for  me,  has  sent  me  the  quotation  from  Jeremiah  xxix. 
II,  *'I  know  the  thoughts  that  I  think  toward  you, 
saith  the  Lord,  thoughts  of  peace,  and  not  of  evil,  to 
give  you  an  expected  end."  You  will  easily  understand 
how  opportune  such  gracious  words  have  proved  them- 
selves, and  how  much  strength  and  encouragement  I 
have  drawn  from  them.  § 

*  My  principal  assistant  in  this  work  has  been  Shaw, 
the  Sierra  Leone  carpenter,  who  came  down  the  coast 
with  me  last  year.  Allan,  the  Accra  blacksmith,  too, 
has  rendered  important  service.  John  Greenhough, 
Hanbury  Hill,  and  Jonathan  Scott,  three  youths  from 
our  Cameroons  Mission,  complete  the  list  of  those  who 
have  rendered  skilled  or  intelligent  service.  John  has 
done  the  lion's  share  of  the  riveting,  and,  as  is  usual 
with  him,  whatever  he  may  have  in  hand,  he  has  done 
it  faithfully  and  well.  John  is  the  youth  who  accom- 
panied Mr.  Dixon  to  England  in  October  last.  James 
Showers  was  looking  forward  to  helping  with  the  work, 


1 64    The  Coming'  of  the   'Peace' 

but  family  matters  called  him  home  to  Victoria  in 
December  last;  however,  I  am  now  looking  out  for 
his  return,  and  am  expecting  his  help  when  we  go 
up  river. 

'  I  am  hoping  soon  to  see  Mr.  Comber  back  again  at 
the  Pool ;  for  since  the  commencement  of  the  year,  with 
the  exception  of  a  month,  I  have,  like  most  of  my 
brethren,  been  alone,  so  far  as  brotherly  help  and 
counsel  are  concerned.  But  I  know  so  well  the  im- 
portance of  his  mission  down  country,  that  I  would  not 
for  a  moment  hurry  his  return,  much  as  I  desire  his 
coming.  I  am  afraid,  however,  if  he  does  not  succeed 
in  returning  soon,  he  will  only  do  so  in  time  to  pack  up 
and  prepare  for  his  journey  home  to  England ;  and 
seeing  that,  hurry  as  best  he  may,  he  cannot  now  make 
his  absence  from  the  "  old  country  "  much  less  than  six 
years,  it  is  on  every  account  desirable  that  he  should 
run  no  further  risk  by  reason  of  delaying  to  seek  his 
way  homeward. 

'  Like  many  of  my  friends,  you  too,  my  dear  Mr. 
Baynes,  will  be  wondering  how  it  is  you  have  heard  so 
little  from  me  during  the  year.  My  long  journey  up 
river,  followed  immediately  by  my  being  left  alone  with 
the  work  of  the  "  Peace  "  on  my  hands,  is  the  excuse  I 
must  urge  ;  and  I  trust  you  will  allow  its  validity,  and 
that  my  friends  will  cease  to  think  hard  things  of  me 
because  so  many  kind  letters  have  remained  so  long 
unanswered.' 

Two  months  later  he  writes  with  natural  and 
devout  exultation  reporting  the  accomplishment  of  his 
task. 

'  Of  God's  good  favour  we  have  been  enabled  to 
launch  with  perfect  safety  the  Mission  steamship 
"  Peace,"    and    run     a    very     satisfactory     trial     trip, 


A  Marvellous  Sig-ht  165 

attaining  a  speed  of  nearly  if  not  quite  ten  miles  per 
hour. 

*  When  I  last  wrote  you  I  did  not  at  all  expect  to 
launch  her  before  the  autumn  rise  of  the  river,  but  by 
carefully  lowering  her  and  making  much  longer  launch- 
ways,  and  by  blasting  some  of  the  rocks,  I  have  been 
enabled  to  get  her  afloat,  lowness  of  water  notwith- 
standing. Lowering  such  a  craft  is  no  light  task  !  It 
was  a  marvellous  sight  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives.  Four 
of  the  spars  we  used  as  launch-ways  were  more  than 
four  feet  in  girth,  and  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in  length, 
and  bringing  them  from  a  distance  of  more  than  three 
miles,  involved,  as  you  may  suppose,  a  large  amount  of 
hard  work.  Such  work,  I  know,  might  be  considered 
little  wonder  in  England,  but  out  here  at  Stanley  Pool 
it  means  really  much  more  than  most  people  can 
appreciate.  I  am  therefore  all  the  more  grateful  that 
the  work  is  now  well  and  safely  accomplished. 

'  I  am  happy  too  in  being  able  to  say  of  those  who 
have  helped  me  in  this  responsible  task  what  Nehemiah 
said  of  those  who  built  the  wall — "  The  people  had  a 
mind  to  work  ; "  and  now  like  him,  too,  I  can  rejoice 
that  the  good  hand  of  our  God  has  indeed  been  most 
manifestly  upon  us.  In  a  few  days,  after  painting  and 
putting  on  a  few  finishing  touches,  we  shall  run  a  second 
trip  with  the  "  Peace,"  and  then  I  quite  expect  we  shall 
attain  the  maximum  speed  of  twelve  miles  per  hour. 
This  work,  which  was  commenced  scarcely  three  months 
ago,  has  progressed  without  a  single  hitch  of  any  kind, 
and  with  much  greater  rapidity  than  anyone  of  us  dared 
to  hope,  and  now,  to-day,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  we 
are  able  to  chronicle  the  desired  end.  Eight  hundred 
pieces,  transported  from  England  to  Stanley  Pool  by  rail, 
steamer,  and  carriers — not  one  piece  missing — and  now 


1 66    The  Coming"  of  the  *  Peace' 

the  whole  work  completed.  Most  clearly  God's  finger 
points 

ONWARD  !   FORWARD  ! 

And  I  cannot  shut  my  eyes  to  the  crying  needs  of  the 
untold  multitudes  of  people  on  the  four  hundred  miles 
of  the  noble  Upper  Congo  I  have  already  traversed,  or 
my  heart  to  the  pressing  claims  of  the  multitudes  yet 
further  beyond  in  the  vast  interior  regions.  We  now 
most  earnestly  need  reinforcements — 

*  More  Missionaries — so  that  we,  indeed,  may  be 
messengers  of  peace  and  goodwill  to  the  poor,  dark, 
down-trodden  millions  in  the  heart  of  the  vast  continent, 
and  for  whom  the  message  we  carry  is  the  only  real 
eternal  Hope' 

When  Comber  returned  to  England,  in  many  places, 
he  told  in  his  own  graphic  manner  the  story  of  the 
reconstruction  of  the  '  Peace.'  His  feeling  at  the  time 
of  its  completion  is  expressed  in  a  letter  to  Mrs. 
Hartland. 

*  You  will  have  heard  how  good  God  has  been  to  us, 
especially  in  the  matter  of  the  steamer — how  dear  old 
Grenfell  has  alone  accomplished  the  gigantic  task  of 
reconstructing  her.  I  can  tell  you  we  are  proud  of 
Grenfell,  and  thankful  to  God  for  him.' 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  natives,  when  steam  was  up 
and  she  began  to  move,  is  reflected  in  the  cry  of  one  of 
them  :  *  She  lives,  master !     She  lives  ! ' 

At  the  risk  of  some  slight  repetition,  I  close  this 
chapter  with  two  letters.  The  first  was  written  by 
Grenfell  to  Mr.  Sidney  Barnaby,  of  the  firm  of  Messrs. 
Thornycroft,  the  expert  in  naval  construction,  who  had 
designed  the  '  Peace.'  The  second  is  Mr.  Barnaby 's 
comment  on  the  letter  and  the  piece  of  work  it  formally 
reports. 


Details  of  Launching*        167 

*  Stanley  Pool, 

'July  6,  1884. 

*  It  was  exactly  twelve  weeks  from  the  time  of  our 
laying  the  keel  till  the  launch,  and  she  had  not  been  in 
the  water  more  than  twenty-four  hours  before  we  had 
run  a  short  trial  trip — five  miles  or  so — very  satisfactorily. 
Last  week  we  ran  our  second  trip,  over  fifty  miles — 
she  did  splendidly.  Everything  has  been  thoroughly 
overhauled,  and  we  are  prepared  to  start  up-river  in  the 
morning  with  every  confidence.  Some  of  our  friends 
count  me  a  bold  man  to  attempt  a  long  j'ourney  without 
a  professional  engineer,  but  as  I  shall  have  with  me  the 
people  who  have  done  all  the  work  hitherto,  I  do  not 
feel  that  I  need  to  be  very  anxious  on  that  score  ;  of 
course,  I  should  like  to  turn  over  all  responsibility  to  a 
"  professional,"  if  it  were  only  possible. 

'I  am  especially  glad  that  I  have  been  enabled  to 
launch  the  "Peace"  earlier  than  I  anticipated,  as  it 
allows  of  Mr.  Comber  making  a  run  up-river  before  his 
return  to  England.  I  think  when  I  wrote  last  I  told 
you  that  we  should  be  compelled  to  wait  till  the  autumn 
rise  of  the  river  before  we  should  have  an  opportunity 
of  launching  ;  but  by  making  a  sort  of  earthwork  dam 
thirty-six  feet  out  into  the  river,  and  then  baling  out 
the  water  and  laying  the  launch-ways,  we  were  enabled 
to  accomplish  a  work,  with  a  good  deal  of  labour,  that 
would  have  been  extremely  simple  if  we  had  had  a  tidal 
river.  The  length  of  our  launch-ways  was  twice  the 
length  of  the  boat,  and  the  cradle  fifty-four  feet :  incline 
of  ways,  one  in  fifteen.  I  think  I  fixed  the  ribands  a 
little  too  lightly,  and  that  accounted  for  our  having  to 
start  her  off  twice  with  the  jack-screws  before  she  made 
the  plunge.  There  was  no  jerking  or  jolting  of  any 
kind.     I  think  also  I  told  you  I  had  built  the  steamer 


1 68    The  Coming'  of  the  'Peace' 

"  on  an  even  keel ; "  this  necessitated  lowering  the  stern 
on  to  the  ways  by  means  of  jack-screws.  The  cradle, 
or  at  least  forty-two  feet  of  it,  was  fixed  up  to  the 
bottom  of  the  boat-pin  just  forward  of  the  propeller 
casings  ;  the  weight  was  then  taken  by  the  "jacks"  and 
the  blocks  removed,  and  as  the  lowering  proceeded  the 
forward  end  was  carefully  wedged  up.  The  "  principals  " 
of  the  after  cradle  were  two  fine  hardwood  beams  nine 
inches  square  (they  were  dragged  from  the  forest  three 
miles  away)  ;  after  they,  together  with  the  steamer,  were 
lowered  into  their  place,  the  forward  cradle  was  fixed, 
"  dogged "  on,  and  the  whole  business  wedged  up. 
Lowering  and  fixing  cradles  occupied  three  hours. 
Our  lowering  the  steamer  was  even  a  greater  wonder 
than  launching  her,  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives.  She 
came  down  very  easily  and  smoothly. 

'As  yet  we  have  not  maintained  a  higher  working 
pressure  than  fifty-five  pounds  ;  by  cutting  off  at  the 
first  notch  we  have  managed  with  careful  piecing  to 
keep  up  to  seventy  for  a  little  while,  and  by  economizing 
we  are  able  to  get  up  to  one  hundred  pounds  for  a  spurt, 
but  it  soon  runs  down.  Priming  bothered  us  a  bit  at 
first,  but  we  are  learning  better  how  to  manage  that. 
The  water  collects  mud  faster  in  the  starboard  engine 
than  the  port  ;  I  shall  learn  why  some  day.  I  have 
screwed  the  safety-valve  down  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds.  I  am  becoming  more  resigned  to  the 
safety-valve  box,  considering  the  rate  at  which  we  make 
steam.  I'm  glad  of  a  big  valve.  I'm  very  glad  too 
that  it  is  not  open  to  the  funnel  ;  when  it  blew  off  in 
that  case,  it  would  only  increase  the  draught  at  a 
moment  when  it  is  not  wanted  at  all. 

'  The  •'  Henry  Reed  "  is  not  all  here  yet,  but  work 
upon    her   has   just    commenced.      The    "  Stanley "    is 


An  Expert's  Comment        169 

coming  up  overland.  I  am  most  anxious  to  see  her. 
From  what  I  hear,  the  "  Peace  "  is  very  likely  to  be  the 
fastest  of  the  Congo  fleet. 

'  I  shall  be  very  grateful  for  any  hints  you  may  be 
able  to  furnish  me  with  upon  points  likely  to  be  over- 
looked by  an  amateur.' 

In  February  of  1907,  after  Grenfell's  death,  Mr. 
Sidney  Barnaby  writes — 

'The     letter   dated   July    6,    1884,    describing    the 
launch  of  the  "  Peace  "  is  a  record  of  a  really  fine  piece 
of  work,  which  would  have  done  credit  to  any  engineer. 
The   "Peace,"   as   you    know,   was    by   no    means    an 
ordinary    type   of  launch.      She   was  one   of  the    first 
vessels  built  with  propellers  in  tunnels,  the  first  to  be 
fitted    with   Thornycroft   water-tube    boilers,   and    the 
first  with  screw-turbine  propellers.     In  addition  to  all 
these  ^  novel   features,   requiring  great   care    in    recon- 
struction and  in   handling,  she  was  built  of  very  thin 
plating.      These  special  features  were  necessitated  by 
the  extremely  difficult  conditions  which  were  imposed 
upon  her  designers.     A  speed  of  twelve  miles  an  hour 
had  to  be  attained  in  a  boat  seventy  feet   long   and 
carrying  four  tons  load,  all  on  a  draught  of  water  of 
twelve  inches.     The  result  was  that  you  could  not  have 
set  a  man  a  more  difficult  task  than  Grenfell  was  set 
in   re-erecting  and  managing   the  boat.     Add  to  this, 
that  the  boat  had  to  be  carried  up  from  the  coast  in 
porters'  loads  when  there  was  no  proper  track,  that  two 
engineers  whom  we  sent  up  to  assist  him  died  on  the 
march  up-country,  and  that  he  had  to  depend  entirely 
upon    unskilled   black  labour  for   the  riveting  up   and 
launching  of  the  vessel,  and   I  am  sure   any  one  will 
agree  that   the   success   he   achieved   was   magnificent. 
The  "  Goodwill,"  which  was  a  much  larger  vessel  of  the 


lyo    The  Coming'  of  the  ^ Peace' 

same  type,  although  presenting  many  difficulties,  came 
more  easily  to  him  after  the  experience  gained  with 
the  "  Peace." 

'The  simple  record  he  gives  of  the  launch  of  the 
"Peace"  in  his  letter  of  1884  makes  light  of  the 
difficulties,  which  can  only  be  appreciated  by  a  technical 
mind. 

'  He  was  a  man  who  would  have  made  his  mark  in 
any  sphere  of  life,  yet  I  have  not  met  one  more  modest, 
or  one  who  thought  less  of  his  own  achievements.' 


CHAPTER  VIII 
BOAT  JOURNEY  TO  THE  EQUATOR 

Up-river  Journey — Equipment — The  Start — The  Medicine  Man— 
Mswata — The  Kwango — Chumbiri — Bolobo— Night  in  the 
Forest — River  Dangers — Lukolela  Towns — Nebu — Stanley's 
Equator  Station— The  Return  Journey — The  Need  of  Help. 

IN  this  chapter  is  given  Grenfell's  official  account  of 
his  intrepid  journey  in  the  whale-boat,  which  he 
made  while  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  engineers,  who 
died  by  the  way.  Some  few  particulars,  culled  from 
private  letters,  have  already  been  given.  Concerning 
this  exploit  Comber  wrote :  '  The  full  value,  to  the 
Congo  Mission,  of  this  interior  journey  of  Mr.  Grenfell, 
few  can  understand.  He  has  passed  over  more  than  a 
third  of  the  entire  route  between  Stanley  Pool  and  the 
goal  of  the  Congo  Mission.  Already,  with  the  eye  of 
faith  and  hope,  we  see  the  great  and  noble  idea  of  the 
Congo  Mission  realized.  The  road  is  ready  and  the 
path  made  straight.  The  peoples  are  willing  and  im- 
ploring us  to  come.  The  whole  land  open,  and  all  the 
inhabitants  in  darkness  and  degradation.  Brothers  at 
home,  come  over  and  help  us.  Come !  Come  quickly, 
I  implore  you  ! ' 

'  Stanley  Pool,  Congo  River,  South- West  Africa, 

'March  5,  1884. 
*  I  believe  you  have  already  been  informed  of  my 
intention  of  making  the  up-river,  interior  journey  upon 


172    Boat  Joupney  to  the  Equator 

which    I    started   on    January    28,    and   from    which    I 
returned  in  safety  yesterday. 

*  By  taking  advantage  of  the  opportunity  afforded 
by  the  present  low-water  season,  I  have  become  much 
better  acquainted  with  the  rocks  and  sand-banks  of  the 
Upper  Congo  than  could  possibly  have  been  the  case 
had  I  deferred  my  trip,  as  the  water  will  soon  begin  to 
rise  and  these  obstacles  be  partly  hidden.  It  needs  no 
argument  to  prove  the  importance  of  such  information  ; 
the  fact  that  we  are  contemplating  the  navigation  of 
the  river,  in  the  "  Peace,"  during  both  high  and  low  water 
seasons,  involves  the  necessity  for  becoming  acquainted 
with  its  difficulties  when  at  their  worst.  So,  with  the 
idea  of  making  a  sketch  of  such  portions  of  the  river  as 
I  could  cover  during  the  four  or  five  weeks  Mr.  Comber 
and  myself  thought  I  could  be  spared  for  the  work,  and 
pending  the  arrival  of  the  engineer,  I  started  off  in  the 
small  steel  boat  which  is  to  serve  as  a  "  tender  "  to  the 
steamer.  This  boat  is  twenty-six  feet  long,  and  was 
manned  by  a  crew  of  five,  together  with  a  boy  from  San 
Salvador,  one  from  Makwekwe  and  myself,  making  up 
a  party  of  eight  "  all  told." 

*  We  took  with  us  five  hundred  brass  rods,  two  feet 
long,  and  one-seventh  of  an  inch  thick  (being  the 
currency  of  the  country),  with  which  to  purchase  food 
and  meet  the  expenses  of  the  journey.  We  also  took 
a  tin  trunk  containing  cloth,  knives,  looking-glasses, 
beads,  and  other  trifles  that  the  African  delights  in. 
In  the  way  of  food  we  took  a  week's  supply  of  cassada 
puddings  and  a  small  bag  of  rice  ;  but  as  food  proved 
plentiful  this  last  was  scarcely  touched.  Some  cocoa, 
tea,  and  sugar,  together  with  a  small  supply  of  medicines, 
I  stowed  away  in  another  tin  trunk  for  my  own  special 
benefit.     I  also  took  a  tent,  that  I  might  sleep  ashore 


A  Sombre  Gate  173 

when  opportunity  offered,  and  the  camp  bed  the  Onslow 
Chapel  Sunday  School  children  were  good  enough  to 
give  me,  and  for  which,  as  I  now  write,  I  feel  especially 
grateful,  remembering  as  I  do  how  nicely  it  kept  me  dry 
on  many  a  rainy  night. 

'Besides  all  these  things  we  had  to  take  cooking 
utensils,  an  axe,  a  couple  of  hatchets,  hammer,  and 
nails,  some  spare  rope  and  a  spare  oar,  so  that  altogether 
we  collected  a  considerable  cargo  for  our  small  craft, 
though  it  did  not  appear  very  much  when  we  thought 
upon  the  possible  exigencies  of  such  a  voyage  as  that 
we  were  entering  upon. 

*  It  took  us  twenty-four  days  to  reach  our  turning- 
point  at  the  Equator  and  about  i8°  E.  long.,  a  distance 
of  about  400  miles  (700  miles  from  the  sea  coast) ;  ten 
days  sufficed  for  our  return. 

'After  making  a  start,  the  first  two  days  were 
occupied  in  getting  to  the  far  end  of  the  Pool,  a  part 
of  our  journey  remarkable  only  for  the  number  of  sand- 
banks, hippopotami,  and  mosquitoes  to  be  encountered. 
When  in  December  last  I  made  a  trip  as  far  as  this 
point,  where  the  Congo  pours  its  impetuous  flood  into 
the  wide  expanse  of  Stanley  Pool,  I  had  been  greatly 
impressed  with  the  forbidding  aspect  of  the  scene. 

*  Here,  stretching  away  before  us  was  the  open 
avenue  leading  into  the  very  heart  of  the  "continent 
mysterieux,"  as  our  neighbours  call  it.  Steep,  tree-clad 
hills  of  a  thousand  feet  or  so  on  each  side  of  the  fast- 
running  and  far-coming  Congo,  reflected  their  dark- 
green  hues  in  its  waters,  making  in  the  evening  light 
so  sombre  a  picture  that  one  could  well  excuse,  if  the 
mystery  had  not  been  already  solved,  a  superstitious 
dread  of  attempting  to  penetrate  the  unknown  through 
such    an    unpropitious-looking    gate.      And    though    I 


174    Boat  Journey  to  the  Equator 

knew,  and  those  with  me  also  knew,  what  I  have  since 
proved  for  myself,  that  long  stretches  of  joyous  country, 
glorious  in  all  Nature's  tropical  beauty,  and  that  great 
and  numerous  tribes,  revelling  in  bounteous  plenty,  were 
to  be  found  lining  the  banks  of  the  waterway  beyond, 
none  of  us  could  resist  the  melancholy  glamour  of  the 
view. 

*  The  morning  effect  was  the  same  when  we  left  the 
Pool  to  enter  upon  the  Upper  Congo  proper  ;  so  it  was 
not  due  to  the  evening  light,  as  I  had  thought,  though 
it  was,  perhaps,  partly  due  to  the  contrast  between  the 
brilliantly  white  Dover  Cliffs  and  glistening  sand-banks 
we  had  just  left,  and  the  sober-hued  tree-clad  hills 
which  rose  almost  precipitously  from  the  water's  edge. 
But,  however  forbidding  the  scene  may  have  been,  it 
certainly  had  no  message  for  us,  for  the  good  hand  of 
our  God  was  upon  us  all  through — it  was,  nevertheless, 
not  too  dark  a  portent  of  the  condition  in  which  we 
found  the  people.  And,  though  I  am  accustomed  to 
look  upon  a  very  sad  state  of  affairs  as  being  normally 
the  state  of  the  African,  yet  again  and  again  all  my 
sympathies  were  evoked,  as  yours  would  have  been,  my 
dear  Mr.  Baynes,  by  the  multiplied  sorrows  which  have 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  these  poor  people,  for  whom  there  is 
no  hope  save  in  God's  great  mercy,  and  in  His  message 
which  we  are  trying  to  declare. 

'After  the  two  days  spent  in  passing  through  the 
Pool  came  another  two  days  of  similarly  incidentless 
travel  through  a  similarly  uninhabited  district — more 
hippopotami,  more  mosquitoes  ;  only  the  sand-banks 
were  changed  for  far  more  serious  obstacles  in  the  shape 
of  long  reefs  of  felspathic  rocks  that  bristled  along  our 
course  in  a  most  embarrassing  manner.  On  the  fourth 
evening  we  camped  on  an   island   in  company  with  a 


The  Rain  Doctor  175 

party  of  Wabuma  who  were  bound  down  river  to 
Ntamo. 

A  storm  threatening,  the  medicine  man  of  the  party- 
commenced  chanting  an  ear-splitting  strain  and  vigor- 
ously shaking  a  rattle,  in  the  attempt  to  drive  away  the 
coming  rain.  But,  do  what  he  would,  and  he  very 
distressingly  increased  his  efforts,  the  rain  came  nearer 
and  nearer,  and  then  fell,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
enchantment,  kept  on  falling.  Apparently  nothing 
daunted,  however,  he  kept  on  also.  After  nearly  a 
couple  of  hours  it  did  cease,  and  left  him  claiming  to  be 
victorious,  and  at  the  same  time,  I  am  sure,  sadly 
tired  out. 

'Towards  morning  another  outbreak  of  the  storm 
threatening,  the  rain  doctor  was  more  modest,  and 
chanted,  "  O  !  for  a  little  rain,  let  a  little  rain  come  ; 
but  not  a  big  rain,  not  a  flood,  just  a  little  rain,  let  a 
little  rain  come."  But  the  inevitable  downpour  came  as 
only  tropical  rain  can  come,  and  the  rain  doctor  ran  and 
hid  himself,  or  else  to  seek  shelter,  under  the  mats  which 
formed  part  of  the  cargo  of  the  canoe.  In  the  morning, 
after  bidding  adieu  to  our  Wabuma  friends,  we  got 
under  weigh  for  our  fifth  day's  journey.  I  did  not  see 
the  rain  doctor.  I  am  afraid  he  got  rather  an  unmerciful 
chaffing  from  our  crew  ;  for  the  rain  sadly  pelted  them, 
and  would  not  let  them  sleep. 

'  We  had  not  proceeded  far  before  we  came  to 
inhabited  country  wearing  quite  a  different  aspect  to 
that  we  had  been  passing  during  the  previous  four  days, 
and  shortly  after  noon  we  were  hospitably  received  at 
Mr.  Stanley's  station  at  Mswata.  The  personal  appear- 
ance of  Gobela,  the  chief  of  this  town,  very  vividly 
reminded  me  of  the  King  of  Kongo,  though  he  is  not 
nearly  such  a  big  man.     He  is  one  of  those  men  with 


176    Boat  Journey  to  the  Equator 

intelligent  minds  and  kindly  hearts  who  make  us  hopeful 
for  the  future  of  this  dark  land. 

*  Ten  or  twelve  more  miles  the  next  day  brought  us 
to  the  point  where  the  Kwango  (or  Ibari  Nkutu)  pours 
its  waters  into  the  Congo.  Here  Mr.  Stanley  has 
another  station,  where  again  I  was  hospitably  received 
by  the  Swedish  officer  in  charge,  with  whom  I  stayed  and 
spent  the  following  day,  it  being  Sunday.  On  Monday 
morning  we  commenced  our  journey  again  by  crossing 
the  mouth  of  the  Kwango,  going  a  little  way  up  stream 
to  prevent  being  carried  out  into  mid-Congo  by  its  very 
strong  current.  The  south  bank,  along  which  the  whole 
of  our  up-journey  lay,  now  becomes  very  populous, 
contrasting  very  remarkably  with  the  northern  bank  ;  but 
I  learn  that,  though  there  are  no  towns  on  the  river-side, 
there  is  a  very  considerable  Bateke  population  only  a 
few  miles  inland. 

'  The  people  we  encountered  were  characteristically 
African  in  their  desire  to  trade  with  us  ;  there  seemed 
to  be  nothing  for  which  they  were  not  anxious  to  barter 
their  brass  rods,  and  appeared  to  be  sadly  disappointed 
because  we  would  only  buy  food  and  not  change  cloth 
for  brass  rods,  or  buy  ivory  or  slaves,  both  of  which 
latter  we  had  constantly  to  refuse.  Among  the  articles 
most  sought  after  were  the  boat  anchor,  the  flag  (the 
ensign  our  beloved  Treasurer,  Mr.  Tritton,  gave  us),  and 
my  spectacles.  One  young  man  was  sorely  hurt,  and 
thought  I  must  have  some  personal  prejudice  against 
him,  when  I  refused  to  let  him  have  them  for  five  brass 
rods — an  extravagant  price  in  his  sight. 

*  It  was  one  long  succession  of  towns  for  nearly  the 
whole  of  Monday,  till  we  arrived  at  the  famous  Chum- 
biri's  in  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  where  we  slept.  He 
has  still  the  same  quiet,  plausible  way  Mr.  Stanley  so 


Dpag-on's  Teeth  177 

well  describes,  and  although  he  is,  of  course,  much  older, 
his  portrait  in  Througli  the  Dark  Continent  is  still  a 
"  good  likeness."  I  had  no  exemplification  of  his  special 
ability,  but  I  have  no  doubt,  from  the  little  I  saw,  that 
he  could  well  sustain  the  role  "  of  the  most  plausible 
rogue  of  all  Africa."  He  seemed  greatly  pleased  by 
the  gift  of  an  old  soldier's  coat  in  return  for  his  gift  of 
fish  and  plantain  for  my  people. 

'This  part  of  the  river  is  the  rockiest  reach  of 
waterway  it  has  ever  fallen  to  my  lot  to  traverse ; 
the  bays  were  like  great  mouths  armed  with,  I  think, 
the  most  uncompromising  dragon's  teeth  that  Mother 
Nature  ever  fashioned.  Another  day  through  an  equally 
populous  and  rocky  portion  of  the  river,  and  we  came  to 
a  broad  expanse  like  another  Stanley  Pool,  studded 
with  islands  and  sand-banks  ;  and,  however  trying  sand- 
banks may  be  to  one's  patience,  they  don't  shock  one's 
nerves  half  so  forcibly  as  the  sudden  "  pulling  up  "  on 
some  biting,  grinding  rock. 

*  A  day  and  a  half  through  this  wide  portion  of  the 
Congo  and  we  reached  Bolobo,  another  of  Mr.  Stanley's 
stations,  and  after  a  pleasant  break  in  the  routine  of 
camp  life  started  again  up  river,  still  keeping  along  the 
mainland,  and  not  threading  our  way  between  the 
numberless  islands  ;  this,  so  as  to  come  into  contact 
with  the  people  whose  large  and  well-built  towns  lined 
the  bank  for  the  whole  of  the  next  two  days.  The 
people  hereabouts  were  mostly  timid,  but  proved,  as 
soon  as  we  were  able  to  open  communications,  to  be 
well-disposed.  At  first  sight  of  the  boat  they  generally 
beat  a  precipitate  retreat,  and  sometimes  we  were  unable 
to  open  negotiations,  but  mostly,  however,  some  one  or 
two  of  more  than  usually  brave  spirit  would  remain 
within  earshot,  and  prove  sufficient  for  breaking  the  ice. 

N 


178    Boat  Journey  to  the  Equator 

One  town  refused  to  let  us  use  their  beach  as  a  camping- 
ground,  hut  it  was  partly  our  own  fault  ;  for  we  arrived 
just  as  it  was  growing  dark,  and  naturally  enough  the 
people  were  afraid  of  visitors  arriving  at,  to  them, 
untimely  hours.  I  feel  sure  that  if  we  had  had  only 
half  an  hour's  daylight  in  which  to  treat,  we  should 
have  smoothed  every  difficulty.  The  consequence  was 
we  had  to  cross  to  a  sand-bank  about  a  mile  away,  and 
had  to  scramble  in  the  dark  for  firewood  on  one  of  the 
small  islands  that  lay  in  our  course. 

*  Our  camping  ground  was  a  triangle  of  two  hundred 
or  three  h^indred  square  yards  area,  an  uncomfortable 
spot,  lots  of  mosquitoes,  and  a  herd  of  hippos  on  two 
sides  of  us,  and  not  more  than  thirty  yards  away.  These 
latter  are  disagreeable  neighbours,  their  bellowing  is 
something  terrible,  but  their  tramp  with  its  heavy  thud 
close  to  one's  tent  is  even  more  disconcerting,  and  not 
at  all  a  reassuring  sensation  with  which  to  try  to  get  to 
sleep  again  after  having  been  rudely  awakened. 

*  We  broke  up  a  quantity  of  our  firewood,  and  when 
they  ventured  too  close  we  pelted  them,  keeping  our 
guns  in  reserve  for  an  actual  invasion  ;  and,  after  setting 
two  to  watch,  the  rest  of  us  went  to  sleep.  But  the 
sticks  proved  ineffectual,  and  one  of  the  beasts  had  to 
pay  with  his  life  for  a  rude  stampede  across  our  narrow 
territory  out  of  hours.  We  did  not  wish  to  resort  to 
extreme  measures,  because  a  shot  might  only  wound 
and  infuriate,  and  an  infuriated  hippo  is  not  to  be  trifled 
with,  and  also  because  we  did  not  wish  to  arouse  our 
already  nervous  neighbours,  who  would  not  let  us  sleep 
on  their  beach,  and  make  them  still  more  afraid.  The 
death  of  one  hippo  secured  us  a  temporary  lull,  but 
a  couple  more  hours  had  not  elapsed  before  a  second 
fell ;  this  made  the   fourth  since  noon   of  the  previous 


Ag'g'pessive  Hippopotami    179 

day.  The  two  first  we  killed  for  "  chop,"  not  but  that 
one  was  more  than  enough,  but  by  aiming  at  two  out 
of  a  herd  in  the  hope  of  getting  one,  Ebokea  and  myself 
brought  down  one  apiece  with  our  first  shots.  However, 
it  was  not  a  case  of  waste  ;  for,  after  taking  for  ourselves 
what  we  wanted,  the  natives  came  and  cut  them  up, 
and  took  away  the  provision  for  many  a  good  feast ; 
and  I  hope  they  thought  none  the  less  kindly  of  the 
white  man  and  his  people  who  in  passing  had  killed  for 
them  the  game  they  were  afraid  to  tackle. 

'The  day  following  we  passed  two  or  three  towns, 
and  then  a  great  change  came  over  the  country,  the 
high  cliffs  and  breezy  hills  giving  place  to  low  swampy 
ground.     For  three  days  we  wended  our  way  along  the 
narrow  channels  separating  the  bank  from  the  islands,  of 
not  more  than  two  hundred  yards  in  width,  these  being 
the  habitat  of  innumerable  wild  fowl  and  hippopotami. 
These  latter  proved  a  great  trouble,  and  often  made  our 
course  a  tortuous  one  in  our  attempts  to  avoid  them. 
One  of  them  came  up  right  under  the  boat,  lifting  the 
stern  out  of  the  water  ;  another  left  the  mark  of  his 
teeth  in  the  steel  plate.     In  the  former  case,  as  I  felt 
myself  "going  up,"  I  had  time  to  think  of  the  well- 
known  picture  in  Livingstone's  first  book  depicting  a 
similar  incident ;  but  we  had  a  better  fate  than  fell  to 
the  occupants  of  his  canoe,  for  we  came  down  again  all 
right,  and  suffered  nothing  worse  than  a  bit  of  a  soaking, 
a  good  shake  up,  and  a  general  scare  all  round.     Our 
good  steel  boat  stood  the  shock  very  much  better  than 
a  wooden  one  twice  its  weight  would  have  done  ;  in  fact, 
I  very  much  doubt  if  a  wooden  boat  would  have  survived 
both  rocks  and  hippos. 

'On  the  sixth  day   from    Bolobo  we  reached    the 
Lukolela    towns,    at    the    farther    extremity  of   which 


I  So    Boat  Journey  to  the  Equator 

Mr.  Stanley  has  his  next  station  ;  this  one  in  charge  of 
an  EngHshman,  Mr.  E.  J.  Glave,  who  gave  me  a  hearty 
welcome,  and  with  whom  I  had  a  stroll  in  the  afternoon 
through  the  towns  to  the  chief's  house.  The  natives 
were  all  most  friendly,  and,  just  as  I  was  starting  up 
the  river  again  the  next  morning,  the  chief,  Mungaba, 
sent  one  of  his  wives  with  a  basket  of  specially  prepared 
cassada  pudding,  a  supply  which  sufficed  for  two  meals 
a  day  during  the  next  fortnight,  and  for  which  I  was 
very  grateful.  At  Lukolela  the  river  assumes  a  more 
usual  character,  and  is  content  with  a  channel  a  couple 
of  miles  in  width  in  place  of  from  five  to  twelve, 
which  often  obtain  during  the  previous  sixty  miles 
or  so. 

'The  country  here  is  densely  wooded  along  the 
river,  which  is  flanked  on  each  side  by  picturesque  hills, 
which  furnish  sites  for  the  towns.  In  the  rear  of  the 
hills  open  country  abounding  in  game  is  to  be  found. 
The  soil  is  of  the  richest  quality,  food  is  abundant,  and 
building  material  of  the  best  kind  is  immediately  on 
the  spot.  These  things,  together  with  the  healthiness 
of  the  place,  which  is  vouched  for  by  Mr.  Glave's  appear- 
ance, and  the  kindly  disposition  of  the  people,  point,  in 
my  mind,  to  the  desirability  of  the  place  as  a  site  for 
one  of  our  future  stations. 

'  Half  a  day's  journey  through  the  comparatively 
narrow  channel  of  a  couple  of  miles  or  so,  and  we  were 
away  into  a  broad  expanse  of  island-dotted  water  again, 
with  the  northern  bank  quite  obscured,  and  probably 
some  eight  miles  distant  from  the  track  we  followed. 
In  this  next  and  last  stage  of  our  journey,  extending 
over  six  days,  we  passed  no  long  succession  of  towns, 
as  we  did  between  the  Kwango  and  Bolobo  ;  but  on 
three  of  the  long  rocky  points  which  jut  out  into  the 


Return  Journey  i8i 

river  between  long  stretches  of  low-lying  land  we  passed 
the  important  towns  of  Mabelo,  Mpumba,  and  Ngombe  ; 
and  then  we  came  upon  three  large  towns  lying  close 
together  and  within  five  miles  of  the  point  where  the 
Mantumbo  enters  the  Congo,  and  about  forty  miles 
south  of  the  Equator.  Nebu,  at  the  junction  of  the  two 
rivers,  is  one  of  the  largest,  if  not  the  largest,  town  I 
have  ever  seen  in  this  part  of  Africa.  The  people  were 
all  friendly,  and  gave  us  goats,  fowls,  fish,  and  plantain 
in  such  abundance  that  I  had  to  leave  some,  promising 
to  take  them  on  my  return. 

'At  the  Equator,  and  near  the  Ikelemba  or  Uriki 
River,  we  entered  upon  another  populous  district.  Here 
Mr.  Stanley  has  established  another  station,  and  left  it 
in  charge  of  two  Belgian  officers  ;  and,  being  the  first 
visitor  who  had  put  in  an  appearance  at  this  far-away 
post,  I  was  heartily  received  by  these  gentlemen. 

*  Having  reached  the  Equator,  and  my  time  being 
nearly  exhausted,  I  had  to  turn  my  face  homeward, 
though  I  had  a  pilot  ready  to  take  me,  and  the  way 
seemed  to  be  open,  as  far  as  Bangala,  some  eight  or  ten 
days  beyond,  and  about  midway  between  Stanley  Pool 
and  Stanley  Falls.  So,  crossing  the  river,  I  proceeded 
to  follow  the  north  bank  downward,  as  I  had  followed 
the  south  bank  upward,  making  a  point  of  calling  at  all 
towns  and  trying  to  enter  into  friendly  relationship  with 
the  people — which  necessitated,  of  course,  comparatively 
slow  progress.  After  a  couple  of  days'  very  encouraging 
results  to  my  attempts  at  being  on  friendly  terms,  I 
had,  for  lack  of  time,  to  relinquish  the  idea  of  visiting 
more  towns,  and  to  strike  straight  away  home. 

'After  having  been  so  far,  and  being  so  kindly 
received,  even  in  places  where  hitherto  the  natives  have 
been  hostile  to  the  white  man,  I  cannot  but  be  devoutly 


iS2    Boat  Journey  to  the  Equator 

grateful  for  the  protection  of  the  Almighty  and  for  His 
goodness  in  preparing  my  way. 

'How  much  this  part  of  Africa  stands  in  need  of 
help  I  cannot  tell  you  ;  words  seem  utterly  inadequate. 
I  cannot  write  you  a  tithe  of  the  woes  that  have  come 
under  my  notice,  and  have  made  my  heart  bleed  as  I 
have  journeyed  along.  Cruelty,  sin,  and  slavery  seem 
to  be  as  mill-stones  around  the  necks  of  the  people, 
dragging  them  down  into  a  sea  of  sorrows.  Never  have 
I  felt  more  sympathy  than  now  I  feel  for  these  poor 
brethren  of  ours,  and  never  have  I  prayed  more  earnestly 
than  now  I  pray  that  God  will  speedily  make  manifest 
to  them  that  light  which  is  the  light  of  life,  even  Jesus 
Christ  our  living  Lord.' 

The  story  of  the  doleful  news  that  awaited  Grenfell 
on  his  return  from  this  great  journey,  and  of  how  he 
arose  from  his  grief,  '  waxed  strong  in  God,'  and  rebuilt 
and  launched  the  '  Peace,'  has  been  told. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE    FIRST    VOYAGE    OF    THE 
*  PEACE ' 

Success  of  the  *  Peace  '—Meeting  with  Sir  Francis  deWinton— Unruly 
Schoolboys— Wood-cutting— The  Kwa— Mushie  Town— Nga 
Nkabi  — Chumbiri's  Town  — The  Lone  Island  — A  Difficult 
Channel— The  Bayansi—Moie— Eighty  Chiefs— The  Bolobo 
People— Human  Sacrifices— The  Banunu— Lukolela— Ngombe 
—The  Wangi  River— The  Lulongo  River— Dense  Population— 
Boshende  Towns— Blood  Brotherhood— Equatorial  Towns- 
Dress,  Arms,  and  Cruelty  of  the  People— Modes  of  Execution— 
The  Ruki  River— Bangala  Towns— Character  of  the  Natives— 
Mengaba— Need  for  Caution— Bokolela  Towns— Liboko— Site 
of  Stanley's  Battle— Mata  Mayiki— Tattooing— Results. 

THE  long  letter  which  constitutes  the  body  of  this 
chapter  was  printed  in  the  Missionary  Herald  of 
January,  1885,  and  awakened  intense  interest  in  the 
Congo  Mission,  far  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  Baptist 
Denomination.  Portions  of  it  have  already  been 
reprinted  in  other  volumes ;  but  it  is  so  vivid  and 
memorable  a  document  that  I  am  constrained  to  give 
it  almost  unabridged.  It  was  the  joint  production  of 
the  two  pioneers,  and  addressed  to  Mr.  Baynes. 

In  a  private  communication  of  the  same  date, 
Grenfell  writes  :  *  Comber  and  I  are  preparing  a  letter 
describing  our  experiences.  I  have  finished  my  share 
of  it,  and  I  expect  he  will  have  his  ready  by  the  time 
this  mail  leaves.  So  you  may  look  for  an  account  of 
our  journey   in  the  Herald  very  shortly,  and  I  won't 


1 84    First  Voyag'e  of  the  *  Peace' 

therefore   go    into   details   concerning   it.      Everything 
went  well,  and  smoothly.' 

How  the  task  of  authorship  was  divided,  and  what 
portions  of  the  letter  were  actually  written  by  Grenfell 
himself,  are  matters  upon  which  I  can  give  no  authori- 
tative information.  Probably  the  original  MSS.  are  in 
the  Mission  House,  but  to  look  them  up  and  to  determine 
these  points  would  be  to  rob  the  critical  reader  of  the 
pleasure  of  interesting  speculation. 

*  Stanley  Pool,  Congo  River, 
'August  21,  1884. 

'You  will  have  been  expecting  further  news  of  the 
steamship  "  Peace,"  and  also,  before  this,  of  her  first 
journey ;  but  you  will  allow  that  her  having  been  built, 
launched,  having  made  the  necessary  trial  trips,  and  run 
a  journey  of  1200  miles  all  within  a  few  days  more 
than  four  months,  has  not  left  much  time  for  letter- 
writing.  Then,  again,  until  we  had  really  given  our 
little  craft  a  thorough  trial,  we  were  not  in  a  position 
to  speak  of  our  success  as  amateur  shipwrights  and 
engineers  ;  but  now  that  we  have  safely  returned  from 
Bangala,  a  point  midway  between  the  Pool  and  Stanley 
Falls,  we  feel  we  can  speak  more  confidently  about  our 
work,  and  better  calculate  the  possibilities  before  us. 

'  Friends  at  home  will  be  glad  to  learn  that  the 
"  Peace  "  answers  every  expectation  in  the  matters  of 
speed,  simplicity,  and  comfort.  We  need  never  be 
afraid  of  being  caught  by  canoes,  if  we  have  only  good 
firewood  on  board  and  wish  to  keep  out  of  the  way. 
As  to  simplicity  of  management,  I  think  it  will  suffice 
for  us  to  tell  you  that  we  ran  the  whole  distance  without 
any  mishap  that  involved  delay,  or  even  the  stoppage  of 
the  engines.     Thanks  to  our  exceptionally  light  draught, 


Eig'ht  Unruly  Cubs  185 

and  the  warnings  given  by  the  lead,  the  sandbanks 
gave  us  very  little  trouble,  there  being  no  place  where, 
after  a  little  searching,  a  channel  could  not  be  found. 
Even  with  four  days'  fuel  on  board,  and  our  multifarious 
stores  of  barter  goods  and  food,  we  only  drew  a  little 
more  than  fifteen  inches.  One  thing  that  helped  us 
not  a  little  was  the  experience  gained  in  the  small  boat 
at  the  commencement  of  the  year,  Ebokea,  who  pulled 
stroke  oar  on  that  occasion,  doing  most  of  the  steering. 

'  It  was  our  pleasure,  during  the  first  ten  days  of  our 
journey,  to  have  the  company  of  Colonel  Sir  Francis  de 
Winton,  Administrator-in-Chief  of  the  International 
Association,  and  also  that  of  our  good  friend  Mr.  Gill, 
of  Stanley  Pool,  who  was  acting  as  his  secretary.  Sir 
Francis  was  a  most  agreeable  fellow-traveller,  taking  a 
very  real  and  sympathetic  interest  in  every  phase  of  our 
work,  from  the  establishment  and  modes  of  procedure 
at  our  stations,  down  to  taking  his  turn  at  the  wheel, 
wood-cutting,  and  bread-making.  He  is  a  thorough- 
going campaigner,  and  so  can  manage  to  enjoy  life 
anywhere.     You  may  be  sure  we  enjoyed  his  company. 

*  In  addition  to  ourselves,  Mr.  Maloney,  who  had 
come  up  from  Wathen,  our  passengers,  our  crew  of  a 
dozen,  and  three  men  we  were  taking  to  prepare  the 
ground  for  building  at  Lukolela,  we  ventured  to  take 
with  us  eight  of  our  schoolboys,  thinking  that  to  take 
them  a  long  journey  would  tend  to  enlarge  their  ideas 
of  things  :  the  world  is  a  very  little  place  to  some  of  their 
minds.  But,  however  desirable  it  may  be  to  enlarge 
their  ideas,  we  very  much  question  if  either  of  us  will 
ever  again  face  the  responsibility  of  personally  con- 
ducting a  part  of  eight  unruly  cubs  for  a  twelve-hundred- 
mile  tour.  In  the  cold  morning  the  stoker  was  their 
very  dear  friend  ;  in  fact,  so  attached  did  they  become 


1 86    First  Voyag^e  of  the  *  Peace' 

to  the  stoke-hole  that  most  of  them  left  bits  of  their  skin 
sticking  to  the  steam-pipes,  contenting  themselves  for  a 
time  with  a  few  swathes  of  bandaging,  with  rolls  of 
which  we  were  fortunately  fairly  well  provided.  In  the 
middle  of  the  day,  when  the  stoke-hole  had  lost  its 
charms,  the  water  became  a  great  temptation  to  them, 
and  a  constant  source  of  anxiety  to  us  ;  for  not  only 
were  there  the  risks  consequent  upon  their  not  being 
able  to  swim,  but  the  grave  possibility  of  hungry  croco- 
diles being  on  the  prowl.  On  one  occasion  we  came 
very  near  to  disaster.  A  boy,  while  playing,  fell  over- 
board, dragging  another  with  him,  who,  like  himself, 
could  not  swim.  Happily,  the  small  boat  was  able  to 
reach  them  without  much  loss  of  time,  and  we  are  now 
rejoicing  in  the  fact  that  notwithstanding  the  risks  of 
fire,  water,  and  rapidly  revolving  machinery,  by  God's 
good  favour  we  have  brought  them  all  safely  back 
again. 

'Though  our  youngsters  were  such  a  trouble  to  us, 
they  could  be  very  helpful  at  times,  especially  when 
fire-wood  had  to  be  carried  from  some  little  distance  in 
the  forest.  Cutting  wood  was  our  big  work  from  day  to 
day.  Everybody  joined  in  it,  and  we  did  fairly  if  we 
managed  to  get  enough  in  three  or  four  hours  to  suffice 
for  the  remainder  of  the  day.  On  these  occasions 
quantity  was  not  the  only  desideratum  :  if  we  had  bad 
wood  it  meant  going  at  three  or  four  miles  an  hour  ; 
with  good  wood  we  managed  ten. 

'  But  though  fire-wood  was  a  constant  care,  and 
involved  many  an  anxious  look  out,  as  we  wended 
our  way  between  apparently  interminable  sandbanks, 
travelling  in  the  "  Peace "  was  luxurious,  compared 
with  journeying  in  our  twenty-six  feet  boat,  which 
sufficed  for  the  journey   to  the   Equator   at  the  com- 


A  Thpiee-told  Tale  187 

mencement  of  the  year.  We  were  especially  grateful 
for  the  awning,  furnishing,  as  it  does,  such  a  splendid 
protection  from  both  sun  and  rain— ever  present  con- 
tingencies on  the  Congo;  for  though  we  start  in  the 
cold  season  we  are  not  half  way  along  the  Congo  before 
we  are  into  the  hot,  and  though  we  start  in  the  dry,  as 
we  did  this  time,  before  we  reach  Bangala  we  find  the 
rainy  season  in  full  swing. 

'  A  reviewer,  criticizing  the  account  of  a  recent  voyage 
up  the  Congo,  refers  to  it  as  a  "thrice-told  tale,"  and  the 
newspapers  just  to  hand  are  so  full  of  Congo  news  that 
we  can  easily  imagine  it  possible  that  by  the  time  this 
reaches  you,  our  friends  at  home  may  be  tired  of  the 
whole  business.    But  whatever  M.P.s  and  merchants  may 
do  with  the  Congo,  the  Congo  Mission,  as  a  Baptist 
Missionary   Society  question,  remains   the  same ;  nay, 
with  increasing  light  and  better  knowledge  of  the  people 
and    country,   our   work    appears    as   more   and    more 
imperative,  and  we  are  thus  constrained  to  lay  the  matter 
even  more  fully  before  you,  our  brethren,  at  home. 

'Having  decided  we  could   devote  five  weeks  to  a 
prospecting  tour  in  the  "  Peace,"  we  were  enabled  to  get 
under  way  by  nine   o'clock  on  July   7,    and   by  the 
time  for  dropping  anchor  in  the  evening  we  found  our- 
selves right  beyond  the  Pool,  and  well  into  the  narrow 
portion  of  the  Congo,  which  extends  for  about  a  hundred 
miles.    (We  trust  our  friends  who  read  this  letter  will  do  so 
with  our  map  before  them,  as  it  will  greatly  help  them  to 
form  an  idea  of  what  we  have  done  and  what  we  propose 
to  do.)     The  next  day  brought  us  almost  to  Mswata, 
which,  counting  Kinshasa  and  Kimpoko,  on  the  Pool' 
is  the  third  International  station  beyond  Leopoldville! 
Having  passed  Mswata  and  proceeded  five  miles   we 
come  in  sight  of  the  French  station  at  Ganchu's,  on' the 


1 88    First  Voyag'e  of  the  *  Peace' 

opposite — the  right — bank.     Another  five  miles  brought 
us  to  the  next  International  station,  at  Kwamouth. 

*  At  this  point  we  determined  to  forsake  the  Congo 
for  awhile,  and  started  the  following  morning  to  go  up 
the  Kwa,  or  the  Hari  Nkutu — which  the  natives  call  the 
Bochini — as  far  as  the  junction  which  it  makes  with  the 
Kwango.     This  furnished  us  with  some  little  excitement, 
for  we  were  rather  uncertain  as  to  the  temper  of  the 
people,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  character  of  the  river. 
So  far  as  we  could  learn,  it  had  only  once  previously 
been  visited,  and  that  time  by  Mr.  Stanley,  some  two 
years  ago.     A  map,  which  appeared  in  Mr.  Johnston's 
recent  book,  gives  the  distance  to  the  junction  as  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  miles  east  of  the  point  where  the  Kwa  falls 
into  the  Congo.     We  found  it  fully  three  times  as  far, 
and  had   many  and  many  an   anxious  look  across  the 
miles  of  sandbanks  from  the  awning-top  before  we  got 
a  glimpse  of  the  water-way  we  sought.     Its  being  so 
much  farther  than  we  had  expected  resulted  in  a  greater 
curtailment  of  the  time  we  had  at  our  disposal  for  the 
main  river  than  we  had  bargained  for.     However,  we 
were  well  repaid  for  making  the  dHour,  by  our  coming 
into  contact  with  the  chieftainess  of  the  Wabuma,  a 
strong-minded    woman,    who    rules    one   of    the   most 
important  trading  communities  on  the  Congo. 

'The  Kwa  for  the  first  thirty  miles  has  a  mean 
course  of  N.E.,  between  steep  grass-and-shrub-covered 
sandy  hills,  of  from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet  in 
height,  and  having  narrow  fringes  of  timber  along  the 
water's  edge  and  in  the  valleys.  Along  this  reach  of 
the  river,  which  has  a  width  varying  from  a  quarter 
to  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  navigation  involves  great 
care,  by  reason  of  the  many  rocky  reefs  which  stretch 
themselves  out  into  nearly  mid-stream.     From  N.E.  the 


A  Lady  Pilot  189 

course  gradually  wears  round  into  an  easterly  one  for 
another  thirty  miles  or  so;  but  where  the  course 
changes  near  the  friendly  town  of  Bo,  the  river  takes 
upon  itself  the  character  of  the  higher  reaches  of  the 
Congo,  widening  itself  out  among  sandbanks  and 
islands  into  lake-like  expansions,  of  from  two  to  five 
miles  wide,  and  five  to  fifteen  miles  long. 

*It  was  after  journeying  about  fifty  miles,  and 
passing  the  second  of  these  expansions,  that  we  came 
in  sight  of  Nga  Nkabi's  Mushie  town  (the  capital  of 
the  Wabuma  country),  which  is  a  series  of  hamlets, 
extending  some  two  or  three  miles  along  the  north 
bank.  We  rather  hurt  her  ladyship's  feelings  by  not 
steaming  straight  away  till  we  came  opposite  her 
residence.  However,  by  getting  up  anchor  again,  and 
accepting  her  personal  pilotage,  we  were  able  to  comply 
with  her  notions  as  to  what  was  the  proper  thing  to  be 
done,  and  to  drop  anchor  within  a  stone's-throw  of  her 
house.  She  is  a  very  capable,  energetic  woman,  of  but 
few  words,  but  who  evidently  knows  her  own  mind  and 
rules  her  subjects,  though  she  made  but  few  pretensions 
in  the  way  of  state  ceremony.  Whatever  her  rule  may 
be,  her  people  are,  without  exception,  the  best  specimens 
of  the  African  we  encountered  on  our  journey. 

'Altogether  Nga  Nkabi's  town  was  the  most  pro- 
mising position  we  saw  for  a  mission  station  ;  and  we 
trust  our  numbers  will  soon  be  sufficiently  augmented 
to  allow  of  our  occupying  this  point,  where  we  are 
assured  of  a  welcome.  Of  course,  they  have  but  very 
indistinct  notions  concerning  our  object,  though  we  tried 
to  tell  them.  More  could  not  be  looked  for  from  a 
single  visit.     They  are  quite  expecting  us. 

'After  leaving  the  two  or  three  miles  of  hamlets 
constituting  Mushie  the  river  trends  S.  by  E.  for  about 


I90    First  Voyage  of  the  'Peace' 

thirty  miles  to  its  junction  with  the  Kwango,  which 
comes  from  the  S.S.E.,  and  is  a  fine  stream  of  four 
hundred  to  five  hundred  yards  wide,  with  an  average 
depth  of  two  fathoms  and  a  mean  current  of  a  mile  and 
a  half  per  hour.  Though  this  is  a  very  considerable 
river  (Livingstone  speaks  of  it  as  very  swift  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide  at  a  point  five  hundred 
miles  south  of  where  we  saw  it),  yet  we  judge  it  to  be 
very  much  smaller  than  the  one  from  the  N.E.  explored 
by  Mr.  Stanley  as  far  as  Lake  Leopold  in  i°  30'  S.  lat. 
We  should  have  liked  to  push  our  way  up  both  these 
streams,  but  had  to  be  content  with  going  a  mile  or  two 
up  the  Kwango.  Here  we  noticed  that  instead  of  the 
hitherto  universal  four-walled  houses,  the  natives  built 
round  ones,  which  denoted  pretty  plainly  our  having 
reached  the  borderland  of  a  distinct  people. 

*  Having  just  had  a  look  at  the  Kwango,  we  set  out 
upon  our  return  to  the  point  of  our  departure,  calling  at 
our  friend  Nga  Nkabi's,  and  spending  an  hour  or  two 
there  on  the  way,  occupying  in  coming  down  a  little 
more  than  a  day  and  a  half  in  covering  a  distance  that 
had  required  five  days  for  the  ascent.  By  the  time  we 
reached  Kwamouth,  Sir  Francis  found  one  of  the 
expedition  steamers  waiting  to  convey  him  to  the 
Pool,  whither  he  at  once  proceeded.  The  following 
morning  we  resumed  our  Congo  voyage,  leaving  Kwa- 
mouth, which  we  determined  by  observation  to  be  in 
3'  14'  south  latitude,  and  proceeded  northward.  Our 
next  stage,  like  our  previous  one  on  the  Congo,  was 
characterized  by  few  or  no  people  on  the  right  bank, 
though  we  passed  a  whole  series  of  towns  on  the 
left. 

,    *We  had  heard  that  the  chief  of  Chumbiri's  town, 
which  was  our  first  stopping-place,  had  been  deposed  and 


The  Lone  Island  191 

killed  by  his  son  ;  so  we  were  quite  prepared  to  find 
another  ruling  in  his  stead,  but  hardly  prepared  for  the 
son's  version  of  the  matter — that  his  father  had  gone 
up  river  to  buy  ivory !  We  were  unable  to  decide  upon 
its  truth,  and  had  to  put  up  with  his  oily  pretensions  of 
friendship  for  ourselves,  and  the  grease  and  powdered 
redwood  which  he  transferred  from  his  person  to  our 
clothes,  as  he  persistently  took  our  arms  and  squeezed 
himself  in  between  us  as  we  walked  the  narrow  paths 
of  his  town.  Here  it  was  that  we  found  a  San  Salvador 
man,  who  had  been  sold  away  as  a  slave.  He  was  very 
glad  to  see  some  one  who  knew  his  country,  and 
recognized  in  that  fact  that  he  had  an  extra  claim  upon 
our  generosity,  and  we  had  not  the  heart  to  dispute  it 
with  the  poor  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  San  Salvador 
lies  very  near  all  our  hearts. 

'  Soon  after  leaving  Chumbiri's,  we  came  in  sight 
of  the  Lone  Island,  which,  though  apparently  standing 
all  by  itself,  as  we  proceed  we  discover  to  be  only  the 
first  of  the  countless  islands  which  are  the  ever-present 
feature  of  the  river  from  this  point  to  Stanley  Falls. 
Hereabouts,  too,  we  exchange  the  deep  water  and  the 
dangerous  reefs  of  rocks  for  shallows  and  sandbanks  so 
numerous  and  channels  so  intricate  that  we  often  lose 
sight  of  the  main  land  and  have  to  rely  upon  our 
compass  for  the  course.  The  current  certainly  tells  us 
whether  we  are  going  up  or  down,  but  when  the  channel 
is  two  miles  wide  to  "  go  up  "  or  "  down,"  is  not  always 
sufficient.  It  is  important  to  steer  a  straight  course, 
and  hit  the  right  bank,  and  not  to  wander  about  in  a 
maze  at  haphazard,  and  find  oneself  on  the  wrong  one. 
After  thirty  miles  or  so  among  these  islands  and  sand- 
banks, the  hills  once  more  approach  the  river,  and  on 
the  slope  of  these  hills  on  the  eastern  bank,  ranging  for 


192    First  Voyag'e  of  the  'Peace' 

about  a  couple  of  miles,  we  find  the  Bolobo  towns,  of 
which  Ibaka  is  the  supreme  chief. 

'In  Bolobo,  as  in  Chumbiri — and  indeed,  having 
scattered  themselves  everywhere,  right  down  to  the 
cataracts  below  the  Pool — we  find  the  Bayansi,  or,  as 
they  call  themselves,  the  Babangi  people,  all  having 
emigrated  from  the  Mubangi,  opposite  Ngombe.  In 
adjacent  Moie  we  find  Banunu  people,  the  Banunu 
being  probably  the  indigenous  race.  Inland  are  said 
to  be  the  Batende.  Bolobo  has,  as  we  have  said  above, 
about  two  miles  of  villages  composing  its  town.  Moie 
is  rather  bigger  than  Bolobo,  and  its  villages,  each 
under  its  separate  chieftain,  extend  further  back  from 
the  river  and  higher  up  the  sides  of  the  lOO  feet  hill 
which  backs  them. 

'  Between  Bolobo  and  Moie  there  is  generally  enmity, 
and  one  can  generally  reckon,  too,  on  internal  dissensions 
in  each  district,  one  chief  of  Bolobo  frequently  not  being 
"  on  speaking  terms  "  with  his  fellow  chief.  Although 
Ibaka  is  the  special  and  perhaps  biggest  chief  of  Bolobo 
(being  the  white  man's  chief  or  friend),  he  is  not  by  any 
means  the  only  one.  There  are  Lingenji,  Yambula, 
Katula,  Oruru,  Yinga,  Biangala,  Itumba,  etc.,  etc. — in 
all  eighty  chiefs  !  The  chief  characteristics  of  Bolobo 
people  appear  to  be  drunkenness^  immorality^  and  cruelty, 
out  of  each  of  which  vices  spring  actions  almost  too 
fearful  to  describe.  In  hearing  of  these,  one  living  out 
here  almost  gets  to  feel  like  calling  the  people  terrible 
brutes  and  wretches,  rather  than  poor  miserable  heathen. 
The  light  of  their  consciences  must  condemn  them  in 
most  of  their  sins. 

'On  the  afternoon  of  our  arrival,  accompanied  by 
Lieut.  Liebrecht,  of  the  Association  Internationale,  we 
walked  through  all  the  towns  of  Bolobo  and  Moie.     In 


Heathen  Trag'edies  193 

Bolobo  it  was  a  great  day,  a  gala  day,  indeed.  The 
wife  of  one  of  the  chiefs  had  died  somewhere  away,  and, 
of  course,  there  must  be  four  or  five  days  and  nights  of 
orgies — any  amount  of  dirty  sugar-cane-beer  swilling, 
unbridled  license  in  every  species  of  sensuality,  and  a 
grand  finale  of  four  human  sacrifices,  each  victim,  mark 
you,  being  a  poor  wretch  of  a  slave  boiight  for  theptirpose  ! 
Drums  beating  briskly,  circles  of  "  fine  "  women,  wearing 
the  great  heavy  brass  collar  (25  to  30  lbs. !),  dancing 
and  clapping  rhythmically,  and  plenty  of  people  about 
in  all  the  streets.  The  victims  were  tied  up  somewhere  ; 
of  course,  they  would  not  tell  us  where  ;  but  were  said 
to  be  apathetically  and  stolidly  awaiting  their  fate — 
bowstring  or  knife — both  being  Babangi  ways  of  killing. 
Remonstrances  and  pleadings  on  behalf  of  these  poor 
victims  were  all  in  vain.  Another  cruel  tragedy  was 
also  to  shortly  take  place.  Prices  of  certain  food  were 
to  be  arranged,  and,  as  a  sign  or  seal  of  such  arrange- 
ment, a  slave  was  to  be  killed  thus — a  hole  was  to  be 
dug  between  the  two  towns,  and  the  victim's  arms  and 
legs  broken,  and  he  thrown  into  the  hole  to  die,  no  one 
being  allowed  to  give  him  food  or  drink.  Oh,  Christians 
at  home,  think  of  this  !  Very  few  children  are  seen  in 
any  Babangi  town,  and  this  may  easily  be  explained 
by  the  immorality  of  the  people.  The  towns  are  kept 
large,  and  the  population  "sustained,  chiefly  by  the  pur- 
chase of  slaves,  who  frequently  receive  the  tribal  mark 
— two  rows  of  raised  blebs  along  the  forehead  from  ear 
to  ear. 

'The  Moie  towns  look  very  pretty  from  the  river, 
many  of  them  being  very  picturesquely  laid  out.  The 
Banunu  inhabitants  are  at  present  shyer  than  the  Bolobo 
Babangi,  and  communication  with  them  has  hitherto 
been   more    difficult.      The   women   and   children    (the 

O 


194    First  Voyag'e  of  the  'Peace' 

Banunu  have  more  children  than  the  Babangi)  frequently 
ran  away ;  one  young  woman  especially,  whom  we 
noticed,  actually  showed  her  teeth  at  us  viciously,  like 
a  wild  animal,  as  our  glance  turned  towards  her.  Banunu 
houses  are  built  in  rows  of  four  or  six  houses,  in  form 
the  same,  but  larger  than  Babangi  houses,  a  small  yard 
between  each  two,  but  the  whole  row  or  set  under  one 
roof.  A  few  of  the  houses  are  ornamented  with  human 
skulls,  one  having  as  many  as  thirteen.  Circling  round 
the  bases  of  large  trees  here  and  there  were  many 
hippopotami  skulls  ;  we  counted  as  many  as  thirty, 
showing  that  these  people  hunt  (probably  harpoon)  the 
hippopotamus. 

'  Of  course,  in  walking  through  these  towns,  we  tried 
to  make  friends  with  the  people  as  much  as  possible. 
We  know  scarcely  any  of  their  language,  and  can  do 
very  little  more  with  them  than  make  friends  on  these 
first  short  prospecting  visits.  But  we  have  said  a  great 
deal  about  Bolobo-Moie  district,  because  here  we  are 
desirous  of  having  one  of  our  stations ;  in  fact,  have 
provisionally  decided  so  to  do,  the  population  being 
dense,  and  the  people  appearing  as  friendly  as  anywhere 
— save  Nga-Nkabi's  on  the  Bochini  River. 

*  At  Bolobo  we  got  further  observations  for  latitude, 
and  place  it  in  2°  13'  o"  S. 

*  From  Bolobo  we  steamed  on  past  some  very  pretty 
hill  scenery,  passing  Moie,  Nkunju  and  Sakamimbe, 
charmingly  situated  on  spurs  of  rocky  tree-clad  hills, 
and  prettily  embowered  in  trees.  These  people  seem 
to  have  picked  all  the  best  sites.  On  this  stage  (as 
between  Kwamouth  and  Bolobo)  we  had  a  passenger, 
Lieutenant  Liebrecht,  accompanying  us  to  Lukolela. 
For  the  whole  of  the  distance,  one  hundred  miles,  we 
saw  absolutely  nothing  of  the  opposite  bank  of  the  great 


o  ^m^^^^a^::. 


BAKUBA   AXE  (of  wrought  Iron,  from 

the  Kasai-Sankuru). 

EXECUTIONER'S  CHOPPERS 

(Bangala  Country). 


WAR   SPEARS   FROM   THE 
UPPER  CONGO. 


Lukolela  195 

river  we  were  ascending ;  but,  keeping  somewhat  near 
the  eastern  shore,  and  a  general  N.E.  direction,  we 
passed  among  the  islands  in  channels  of  from  150  to 
1500  yards  wide,  in  generally  shallow  water.  As,  on 
the  third  day,  we  approached  Lukolela,  we  found  the 
current  much  stronger  ;  and  at  last,  the  first  time  for  120 
miles,  we  saw  the  opposite  shore.  Just  above  Lukolela 
the  river  narrows  from  its  hitherto  unknown  width  to  a 
mile  and  a  half. 

'  Lukolela,  you  will  remember,  was  fixed  upon  as  a 
site  for  our  sixth  station  (Liverpool).  The  villages  of 
Lukolela  are  smaller  and  somewhat  more  scattered  than 
those  of  Moie,  Bolobo,  and  other  Babangi  towns  below, 
although  Lukolela  people  too  belong  to  the  same  enter- 
prising tribe.  They  differ  very  much,  however,  from 
their  more  wealthy  fellow-tribesmen  at  Bolobo  and 
Chumbiri,  and  are  much  milder  and  more  pleasant  in 
disposition. 

'  The  chiefs  are  three  in  number,  two  of  whom  have 
the  name  of  Yuka,  and  the  other — apparently  the 
principal — Mangaba.  As  was  the  case  in  the  other 
stations  of  the  Association,  the  gentleman  in  charge  of 
Lukolela  station,  Mr.  Glave/  accompanied  us  in  our 
first  walk  through  the  town.  At  Lukolela  we  stayed 
two  days,  fixing  our  site,  "  wooding  up  "  for  the  steamer, 
and  making  good  friends  with  the  people.  They  seemed 
all  very  glad  to  hear  that  we  were  coming  to  live  amongst 
them,  and  to  teach  them,  and  the  chief,  Mangaba,  with 
whom  we  made  special  friendship,  promised  to  go  on 
with  us  to  Bangala,  to  introduce  us  to  the  chiefs  there. 
All  is  promising  for  our  work  there. 

'  Leaving  Lukolela  on  July  23,  we  slept  just  below 
Ngombe,  which  we  reached  early  the  following  morning. 

'  See  references  to  Mr.  Glave  in  Sir  H.  Johnston's  book  on  Grenfell. 


196    First  Voyag'e  of  the  *  Peace' 

Here  the  river  narrows  again,  having  expanded,  as  usual, 
between  the  two  places.  Opposite  Ngombe,  a  little 
above,  is  the  Mubangi  River,  evidently  a  considerable 
body  of  water  of  a  light  clay,  whitey-brown-paper  colour, 
contrasting  strongly,  and  for  many  miles  refusing  to  mix 
with  the  dark-brown  water  of  the  main  river.  The  two 
bodies  of  water  flow  side  by  side,  always  with  a  great 
deal  of  commotion  and  splashing  waves  at  their  edges 
of  contact,  as  if  jostling  with  each  other  on  their  way 
down.  The  same  is  very  noticeable,  too,  at  the  Lulongo 
River  much  higher  up,  the  water  of  which,  flowing 
alongside  that  of  the  big  river,  is  inky  black. 

'About  twelve  miles  further  on,  and  we  came  to  a 
splendid  set  of  towns,  viz.  Bathunu,  Boshende,  and 
Irebu.  In  this  set  of  towns,  especially  the  last  two, 
which  are  separated  from  each  other  by  a  stretch  of 
country  of  about  a  mile  in  length,  we  have  probably  the 
densest  population  yet  seen  by  us  on  the  Congo,  not 
excluding  Bangala  towns.  The  people  literally  swarmed, 
the  crowd  coming  to  the  beach  numbering  about  5CX) 
people.  Here,  as  at  Ngombe,  and  in  fact  almost  all 
further  towns  on  as  far  as  Liboko,  there  are  isolated 
stretches  of  rocky  banks  where  the  overlying  soil  seems 
particularly  fertile,  and  where  the  people  have  built. 

*We  anchored  off,  and  went  ashore  at  Boshende, 
walked  to  the  chiefs  house,  he  in  turn  paying  us  a 
return  visit  on  board,  and  bringing  a  present  of  a  goat, 
etc.  At  Irebu  we  slept,  going  on  shore  to  make  friends 
with  the  people.  The  principal  chiefs  are  Ipaka, 
Mbeka,  Makwala,  and  Mangombo,  and  we  made  special 
friends  with  Ipaka,  an  old  man.  We  walked  about 
the  towns,  and  found  each  chief  sitting  on  his  stool 
outside  his  house,  ready  to  give  us  a  welcoming  shake 
of  the  hands.     Talking  to  the   people  of  Irebu   and 


Bold  and  Troublesome       197 

Boshende  was  very  difficult,  whether  on  shore  or  when 
they  came  to  see  us  on  board  the  "  Peace."  There  was 
always  a  deafening  din  of  voices.  Mayango,  chief  of 
Boshende,  and  Ipaka  of  Irebu,  as  well  as  almost  every 
friendly-disposed  man  of  importance,  from  Chimbiri  up 
to  Iboko,  were  very  desirous  to  seal  friendship  by  the 
ceremony  of  blood-brotherhood,  which,  among  the  Irebu, 
Babangi,  and  Bangala  people,  is  very,  very  common. 

'The  Congo  equatorial  towns  are  divided  up  into 
districts  as  follows  : — Bojungi,  Mbongo,  Inganda,  and 
Bwangata.  The  population  is  very  scattered,  and  many 
of  the  villages,  specially  in  Lower  Inganda,  consist  of  only 
a  few  tumble-down,  lopsided  houses.  In  the  Bwangata 
section,  however,  the  villages  were  better.  At  the 
Mbongo  below,  the  people  seemed  very  rudely  bold  and 
troublesome,  and  it  seemed  almost  as  if  they  wanted  to 
fight  us  because  we  would  not  stop  and  go  ashore  at 
their  rocky  beaches.  These  people  about  the  great  Ruki 
River  (hitherto  known  as  the  Ikelemba)  are  the  most 
primitive  of  the  people  we  have  hitherto  met.  They 
are  the  only  people  we  met  who  use  the  bow  and  arrow. 
Here,  too,  we  first  saw  an  African  shield,  and  found 
most  men  walking  about  with  bow  and  arrows  and 
shield,  or  spears  and  shield,  or  else  a  murderous  knife, 
of  which  more  presently. 

'  They  also,  for  the  most  part,  wore  hats  of  monkeys' 
skins  ;  the  head  of  the  animal  coming  to  the  front  of 
their  heads,  and  the  tail  hanging  down  behind.  In  spite, 
however,  of  their  coiffure  and  arms,  they  did  not  appear 
wild  or  savage. 

'  That  they  are  cruel,  curiously  and  ingeniously  cruel, 
we  know  from  the  methods  of  execution  obtaining 
amongst  them.  Certain  victims  die  by  the  knife  alluded 
to  above,  and  others  have  to  afford  to  the  bloodthirsty 


1 98    First  Voyag'e  of  the  *  Peace' 

spectators  the  pleasures  of  the  chase.  These  last  are 
given  a  certain  start  across  country,  and  then  are 
pursued  in  full  cry  by  all  the  people  armed  with  spears 
and  bows  and  arrows.  An  obstinate  victim  who  will  not 
run  well  causes  disappointment,  but  others  are  said  to 
make  a  "  fine  run  "  before  they  fall,  pierced  with  arrows 
and  spears. 

'The  death  by  the  knife  is  given  thus.  The  victim  is 
tied  down  to  stakes  driven  into  the  ground  in  a  squatting 
position,  his  arms  behind  him,  and  his  head  bent  well 
forward.  Round  the  chin  and  coming  to  a  loop  at  the 
top  of  the  head  is  a  strong  plaited  rope.  Four  feet  or  so 
in  front  is  a  strong  young  sapling,  which  with  great 
force  is  bent  down  until  its  top  reaches  the  loop  at  the 
head  of  the  victim,  to  which  it  is  made  fast.  The 
sacrificial  knife  (a  strange  sickle-shaped  affair,  the 
hollow  fitting  the  curve  of  the  neck)  is  brought,  and, 
after  a  little  playing  about  with  the  miserable  doomed 
man,  a  smart  deft  stroke  is  given  which  never  fails  to  sever 
the  head,  which  springs  high  in  the  air  by  the  relieved 
tension  of  the  sapling.  Indeed,  interior  Congo  is  one 
of  the  •*  dark  places  of  the  earth,  full  of  the  habitations 
of  cruelty,"  We  have  been  told  that  among  the 
Babangi,  on  the  death  of  a  chief,  scores  of  victims  are 
sacrificed. 

'  Equatorville  appears  to  be  the  prettiest  and  best 
built  and  best  kept  of  any  of  the  upper  International 
Association  stations,  and  really  reflects  great  credit  on 
the  chief  of  station,  M.  Vangele,  who  was  most  kind  to 
us.  We  spent  a  pleasant  quiet  Sunday  here,  and  on  the 
Monday  morning,  July  28,  continued  our  journey  up  the 
river.  Our  midday  observations  (we  got  a  water  horizon 
here,  as  in  many  other  places)  gave  us  4'  20"  N.  of  the 
Equator. 


Superstitious  Mang'aba      199 

'  The  Ruki  River  we  found  to  be  just  the  magni- 
ficent affluent  Stanley  has  described  it,  quite  looo 
yards  wide,  and  with  several  islands  at  its  embouchure. 
Up  above  the  Ruki  River  we  found  Bangala  towns, 
stretching  right  away  to  i°  50'  o"  N.  (our  farthest  point) 
to  Liboko,  where  Stanley  had  his  great  battle  in  1877. 
"VVe  went,  however,  forty-five  miles  above  Equatorville 
before  we  arrived  at  Lulanga,  the  first  Bangala  town 
on  the  eastern  bank.  Meanwhile,  nothing  was  to  be 
seen  of  the  opposite  bank  of  the  great  river  we  were 
ascending,  and  there  was  the  same  monotonous  and 
uninteresting  series  of  islands  of  all  lengths,  covered 
with  forest,  and  swarming  with  gadflies  by  day  and 
mosquitoes  by  night.  "  How  I  love  their  bosky 
depths!"  writes  Mr.  Stanley,  in  describing  them.  It 
is  more  than  we  do.  What  great  lumps  the  flies  raised 
on  suffering  leg  and  ankle  as  one  traced  one's  chart, 
or  studied  the  native  languages  in  the  comfortable 
cabin  of  the  "  Peace  "  !  But,  as  Mr.  Stanley  explains, 
his  love  for  the  interminable  islands  of  the  Congo  arose 
from  the  protection  they  afforded  him  from  his  blood- 
thirsty cannibal  pursuers. 

'At  Lulanga  we  had  our  first  real  introduction  to 
Bangala  people,  and  we  found  them  out  and  out  the 
most  boisterous,  wild,  noisy,  troublesome,  worrying  lot 
of  people  either  of  us  has  ever  met.  We  were  introduced 
by  our  friend  Mangaba,  of  Lukolela,  who  all  the  journey 
had  made  himself  very  interesting  to  us,  although  we 
have  said  nothing  about  him.  Like  all  Babangi  people, 
Mangaba  was  very  superstitious,  and  carried  his  fetishes 
with  him  on  board.  His  toilet  was  never  complete 
without  the  application  of  his  face-powder  and  rouge — 
not  used,  however,  to  improve  the  complexion,  but  to 
make  mysterious  red  and  white  (chalk)  marks  about  his 


200    First  Voyag-e  of  the  *  Peace' 

body,  in  which  his  boy  assisted  him.  A  white  hne  up 
his  back,  from  hip  to  left  shoulder,  to  the  left  of  the 
median  line,  and  carried  down  thence  along  the  outer 
part  of  the  arm  to  the  hand.  Red  and  white  lines  on 
the  left  foot,  ditto  across  forehead,  but  all  drawn  with 
the  most  religious  care. 

*  Old  Mangaba  was  very  active  in  his  communicating 
with  the  people,  shouting  at  every  canoe  we  met,  and 
that  long  after  they  had  ceased  to  hear  what  he  said. 
He  seemed  to  claim  kinship  with  every  one,  found  that 
he  had  a  wife  at  every  town  we  stayed  at,  met  at  least 
three  mothers,  and  introduced  nearly  every  chief  of 
importance  as  his  own  father,  until  his  family-tree 
was,  to  say  the  least,  perplexing.  From  Mangaba 
and  his  little  boy,  Mbuma  (who,  by-the-by,  he  has 
allowed  us  to  bring  down  to  Arthington),  we  tried  as 
much  as  possible  to  learn  the  Babangi  dialect  spoken 
at  Lukolela. 

'  To  converse  with  these  people  was  very  difficult, 
but  we  sometimes  tried  it  when,  in  the  evening,  we  had 
prayer,  and  gathered  round  us  our  boys  to  sing  our 
Congo  hymn.  "  God  hears  us  when  we  speak  to  Him," 
we  said  to  Mangaba.  "  Indeed !  "  said  he,  not  much 
surprised.  "  Yes,  He  is  our  Father,  and  He  is  very 
very  good,  and  loves  us  all  very  much,"  said  we.  But 
to  this  Mangaba  objected.  "  God  was  not  good.  Why 
was  He  always  killing  people  } "  (by  death).  And  then 
we  had  to  try  and  explain  the  resurrection  and  the 
home  in  heaven  ;  but  it  was  difficult  to  remove  his 
sceptical  objections. 

'  Lulanga  is  very  populous,  perhaps  as  much  so  as 
Ilebu  proper.  Altogether,  going  and  returning,  we  spent 
two  full  days  at  this  place.  We,  of  course,  walked 
about   in   the  town    accompanied    by   large   crowds   of 


Excitement  at  Lulanga      201 

people.    A  wild  lot  they  evidently  were,  especially  one 
old  chief,  Ikafaka  by  name. 

*  They  swarmed  out  to  the  steamer  in  good  canoes, 
and  crowded  on  deck,  almost  taking  possession.  The 
difficulty  was  to  get  the  noisy  rowdy  lot  back  in  their 
canoes,  and  not  even  our  steaming  ahead  a  little,  or 
blowing  our  whistles,  would  induce  them  to  leave  us.  A 
dozen  canoes  would  hang  on  to  the  sides  of  the  steamer, 
even  when  we  were  fully  under  way.  There  was  no 
fear. 

'  Once  we  half  feared,  from  their  wild  noise  and  the 
beating  of  a  sort  of  signal  gong,  that  they  might  attack 
us  and  seize  the  steamer.  Any  little  indiscretion  on 
the  part  of  any  of  our  people  might  have  led  to  grave 
results,  as  most  of  our  unruly  guests  were  armed  with 
spears  and  knives.  We  had  to  exercise  the  greatest 
tact,  keep  a  most  constant  genial  good-tempered 
manner,  faces  wreathed  with  perpetual  smiles,  until  even 
the  facial  effort  was  quite  a  strain  ;  and  we  felt  intensely 
relieved  when  we  were  under  way  again — the  last 
canoe  left  behind.  One  of  us  immediately  went  down 
with  a  slight  fever  after  the  excitement  at  Lulanga. 

'  We  found  here,  just  above  Lulanga,  a  considerable 
river.  It  is  called  the  Lulongo  River,  and  is  about  seven 
hundred  yards  wide ;  the  water  being  inky  black. 
There  is  a  town  up  this  river  of  the  same  name. 

*  From  here  to  Liboko,  the  last  of  the  Bangala 
towns,  is  eighty  miles,  and  we  were  surprised  to  find  it 
nearly  two  degrees  north  of  the  equator. 

'  Mangaba  informed  us  that  Bangala  was  divided 
into  five  districts  :  Lulanga  and  Bolombo  on  the  left, 
and  Mungundu,  Bukolela,  and  Loboko  on  the  right  bank. 

'About  twelve  miles  above  Lulongo  River  we 
crossed  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  Congo,  thus  obtaining 


202    First  Voyag'e  of  the  '  Peace ' 

an  idea  of  its  width  at  this  place,  although  we  crossed 
very  obliquely.  We  passed  three  Bukolela  towns — 
Lobengo,  Munsembe,  and  Bombimba,  each  one  built  on 
one  of  the  few  raised  plots  here  and  there  obtaining  on 
the  banks.  These  banks  were  of  clay,  and  from  four  to 
six  feet  above  the  water.  Along  the  beach  were  broad 
double  ladders,  a  sort  of  landing  steps  reaching  down 
into  the  river.  The  people  here  seemed  quieter  and 
milder,  and  quite  ready  to  welcome  us. 

'At  last,  on  August  i,  we  reached  Liboko,  and  after 
steaming  along  seven  miles  of  towns,  more  or  less  close 
to  each  other,  we  came  to  that  of  the  great  chief  Mata 
Mayiki  {i.e.  plenty  of  guns),  where  the  International 
Association  has  built  a  fine  house. 

*  The  chief  of  station  is  Lieutenant  Coquilhat,  who 
seems  to  manage  the  people  very  well,  considering  their 
wildness.  One  fancied  that  a  certain  maniacal  irre- 
sponsible sort  of  wildness  showed  itself  in  their  eyes. 
Here  it  was  that  Stanley  had  his  great  battle  in  1877, 
when  sixty-three  canoes  came  out  to  attack  him,  and  for 
five  hours  he  had  to  sustain  the  fight.  The  brave  young 
chief  mentioned  by  Stanley  was  Mata  Mayiki's  son,  who 
afterwards  died  from  his  wounds.  The  old  chief,  a 
fine-looking,  tall  fellow,  with  failing  sight,  fancied  one  of 
us  was  with  Stanley  on  that  occasion  (Frank  Pocock). 
The  people  crowded  on  the  beach,  most  of  them  armed, 
with  the  idea  (so  M.  Coquilhat  afterwards  informed  us) 
that  we  were  enemies,  and  prepared  to  fight  us.  In  the 
first  place,  our  flag  was  strange  to  them,  and  they  have 
got  to  understand  that  flags  are  very  significant  ; 
secondly,  we  did  not  steam  right  close  into  the  beach,  as 
Stanley's  steamers  had  always  done,  being  smaller,  but 
anchored,  as  usual,  fifty  yards  from  the  shore  ;  thirdly, 
we  had  two   Hangala  men  on  board    from    a   capsized 


Personal  Decorations        203 

canoe,    and  they  fancied   these   their   two  countrymen 
were  prisoners. 

*  All  was  explained,  however  ;  we  came  in  closer, 
just  to  oblige  them,  and  made  fair  friendship  with 
them.  We  stayed  a  day  here,  and  walked  into  the 
town,  which  was  better  arranged  than  any  Bangala 
town  we  had  yet  seen.  Although  the  towns-folk  were 
said  to  be  great  traders,  we  saw  no  signs  of  wealth  at 
Liboko,  scarcely  a  gun,  no  brass  ornaments,  and  very  little 
cloth,  all  the  women  wearing  a  thick  fringe,  dyed  various 
colours,  round  their  loins,  which  was  very  becoming, 
and  the  men,  many  of  them,  wearing  bark  cloths. 

Their  tattooing  is  not  so  extensive  as  the  Babanji's. 
being  transverse  raised  lumps  down  the  centre  of 
the  forehead  to  between  the  eyes,  rosettes  from  the 
eyes  back  to  the  ears,  and  also  down  the  middle  of  the 
breast-bone.  Other  people,  however,  living  at  Bangala, 
and  hailing  from  an  interior  country  called  Ngombe, 
are  hideously  tattooed  with  great  raised  lumps  down 
the  cheek-bones.  The  Bangala,  like  the  Babangi, 
universally  pull  out  their  eyelashes.  Their  language  is 
probably  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  Babangi, 
although  many  words  are  different.  But  our  time  was 
so  short  that  we  could  not  only  go  no  further,  but  could 
not  make  a  prolonged  stay  in  any  place. 

'  The  journey  was  a  prospecting  one,  and  has  resulted 
in  our  being  able  to  choose  very  important  and  valuable 
sites  for  stations. 

•  The  "  Peace,"  too,  has  had  a  splendid  trial,  and  the 
little  we  have  said  about  it  shows  how  little  trouble  it 
gave  in  its  management  and  working. 

'  At  Liboko  we  were  half-way  to  Stanley  Falls.  On 
setting  out  from  Arthington  we  had  given  ourselves  five 
weeks,  and,  had  this  time  been  sufficient,  there  was  nothing 


204    First  Voyag-e  of  the  '  Peace ' 

to  prevent  us  going  the  whole  distance  of  a  thousand 
miles.  There  was  nothing  to  obstruct  ;  the  road  was 
open  and  most  inviting  ;  the  "  Peace  "  working  well  ; 
the  people  above  Bangala  reported  us  "  all  good,"  and 
warmly  welcomed  us :  the  only  thing  making  any 
lengthening  of  our  journey  impossible  was  the  fact  that 
we  had  left  only  Mrs.  Grenfell  at  Arthington,  and  one  of 
us  was  overdue  to  go  down  to  the  coast  and  home  to 
England.  Our  gang  of  Loangos,  too,  were  due  to  go 
home.  So  we  had,  albeit  most  reluctantly,  to  start 
back. 

'  Such,  dear  Mr.  Baynes,  is  the  first  journey  of  the 
"  Peace  "  into  countries  new  and  among  peoples  strange. 
It  was  our  constant  regret  that  we  could  not  make  it 
more  of  a  missionary  journey — that  is,  in  teaching  and 
preaching,  but  that  was  impossible,  chiefly  because  we 
knew  so  little  of  the  language.  We  have,  however, 
done  a  little  more  preliminary  work,  which  is  none  the 
less  our  "  Father's  business."  Oh,  for  the  time  when, 
settled  among  these  people,  there  shall  be  servants  of 
God,  teachers  of  His  Word,  to  show  these  heathen  the 
Christian  life,  and  to  try  to  draw  them  home  to  God  ! 
Oh,  will  kind  friends  in  England  respond  ?  We  can 
but  appeal,  and  plead,  and  cry.  We  can  only  pray, 
"  The  Lord  hasten  it  in  His  time."  But  what  can  we 
do,  so  few  in  number  ?  Our  new  brethren,  Darling  and 
Cruickshank,  have  joined  us  ;  but  we  still  need  at  least 
three  more  brethren  to  fill  our  stations  thus  far,  before 
any  one  can  accompany  Bentley  in  his  approaching 
forward  work. 

'  This  will  be  a  troublesomely  long  letter,  we  fear, 
but  not,  we  hope,  without  interest.  We  must  conclude 
it  now,  however,  and  hope  its  news  will  encourage  our 
friends,  and,  above  all,  incline  the  hearts  of  some  young 


A  Glorious  Work  205 

men  to  seek  for  part  and  lot  in  a  work  which,  though 
not  without  its  dangers  and  arduousness,  is  a  glorious 
one,  which  we  would  exchange  for  no  other — that  of 
taking,  for  the  first  time,  the  light  of  life  into  those 
regions  of  darkness,  cruelty,  and  death.' 


CHAPTER   X 

FROM   AUTUMN,  1884,  TO 
AUTUMN,  1887 

Grenfell's  Literary  Style— Bentley's  Testimony  to  Grenfell's  Work- 
Astronomical  Work— Loss  by  Bad  Packing— First  Printing 
done  at  Stanley  Pool — The  Mubangi— A  Poor  Christmas  Dinner 
—  Attacked  by  Natives— Meeting  with  Tippoo  Tib— The  Lubilast 
—In  Deaths  oft — Illness  of  Mr.  Whitley— The  Boy  Zwarky— 
Arab  Slave  Raids— Child  Interpreters — The  Lulongo-Maringa— 
Cannibals— Hippopotami  Hunting — Sir  F.  de  Winton's  Protests 
— His  Tribute  to  Grenfell— Retrogressive  Policy  of  the  State— 
The  Boy  Kamisi. 

TO  those  who  have  knowledge  of  Grenfell's  life,  and 
the  history  of  the  Baptist  Congo  Mission,  the  title 
of  this  chapter  will  occasion  surprise.  The  period 
indicated  included  his  greatest  exploration  work,  and 
the  records  before  me,  written  by  his  own  hand,  would 
fill  a  volume.  It  would  be  hopeless  to  attempt  adequate 
treatment  of  this  mass  of  material  within  the  compass 
of  a  score  or  two  of  pages.  Happily,  the  attempt  is  not 
necessary.  Sir  Harry  Johnston  has  described  and 
appraised  Grenfell's  achievements  of  these  days  with 
literary  skill  and  scientific  authority,  and  the  reader  who 
desires  full  knowledge  of  the  geographical  spoils  of 
Grenfell's  famous  voyages  must  be  referred  to  Sir 
Harry's  ampler  account. 

It    is    my   purpose    to   give    such    insight    into   the 
character,  capacity,  and  ideals  of  the  man,  during  these 


Grenfell's  Style  207 

laborious  years,  as  may  be  gathered  from  passages 
selected  from  his  letters  ;  and  I  shall  endeavour,  by 
connective  interpolations,  to  preserve  in  some  degree 
the  continuity  of  the  story.  All  the  time  there  will 
be  lurking  in  my  own  mind  an  intense  regret  that 
Grenfell  never  found  opportunity  to  tell  his  own  tale 
to  the  world  in  book  form.  When  his  biographers 
have  done  their  best,  they  realize  how  much  better  he 
might  have  done.  He  had  no  conceit  of  his  literary 
gifts ;  yet  he  wrote,  when  he  was  in  form,  with  a 
crispness,  a  vividness,  an  individuality  of  style  which 
have  already  appealed  to  the  judicious  reader  of  this 
book.  It  reflects  credit  upon  the  discrimination  and 
prescience  of  Messrs.  Hodder  &  Stoughton  that  they 
wrote  to  Grenfell  in  the  spring  of  1886,  saying  that, 
having  seen  his  letters  in  the  Missionary  Herald,  they 
were  of  opinion  that  a  volume  from  his  pen  would  be 
exceedingly  welcome  to  a  large  class  of  readers,  and 
for  the  copyright  of  which  they  would  be  prepared  to 
make  him  a  liberal  offer.  Deprecating  the  want  of 
interest  displayed  by  the  Church  in  Missionary  litera- 
ture, they  conclude :  '  The  work  of  a  pioneer  like  your- 
self would  have  geographical  interest,  and  your  style  is 
such  as  would  fit  you  to  write  a  very  acceptable  work.' 

The  following  passage  from  a  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes, 
dated  July  26,  1886,  is  at  once  an  indication  of  the 
writer's  modesty  and  his  absorption  in  the  Mission  : — 

*  I  enclose  a  copy  of  a  letter  I  have  recently  received 
from  Messrs.  Hodder  &  Stoughton.  It  was  a  great 
surprise  to  me,  especially  the  reference  to  my  "style." 
I  feel  sure  there  is  no  lack  of  interesting  matter  in  the 
history  of  our  Mission  to  make  a  book :  the  question 
is,  will  the  cause  we  have  at  heart  be  served  by  any 
book-making  I  might  possibly  accomplish  }     If  others 


2o8  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

think  so,  I  would  make  the  effort,  though  it  would  be 
a  great  labour,  and  one  that  I  should  undertake  with 
much  diffidence.  I  have  often  regretted  that  some  of 
the  intensely  interesting  correspondence  of  the  early 
San  Salvador  days  was  not  to  be  found  in  print.  It  was 
not  quite  suitable  for  the  Herald,  perhaps,  but  if  carefully 
edited  would  be  just  splendid  for  a  book.  (I  can  say 
this  much  without  boasting,  for,  though  I've  been  to 
San  Salvador,  I  was  not  stationed  there.)  If  I  had  had 
more  time  when  I  was  in  England  last,  I  should  certainly 
have  tried  to  do  something  with  it ;  but  only,  of  course, 
if  it  could  possibly  have  been  of  advantage  to  our 
work.' 

What  may  be  called  a  bird's-eye  view  of  Grenfell's 
journeyings  in  1884-5  is  given  by  Holman  Bentley  in 
an  important  letter,  which  was  incorporated  in  the 
Baptist  Missionary  Society's  report,  read  by  Mr.  Baynes 
at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Society  in  1886.  The 
mutual  appreciation  of  these  two,  differently  gifted  but 
equally  devoted,  men  is  pleasant  to  observe. 

Bentley  writes :  '  Hitherto  we  have  only  occupied 
Stanley  Pool.  In  preparing  our  plans  for  the  Upper 
River,  our  first  duty  was  to  inform  ourselves  as  to  the 
positions  affording  the  greatest  strategic  advantages,  the 
distribution  and  character  of  the  populations,  the  physical 
features  of  the  country,  and  the  extent,  navigability,  and 
course  of  the  great  affluents  of  the  river.  To  have  made 
our  plans  without  this  knowledge  would  have  been  the 
wildest,  wickedest  folly.  Mr.  Grenfell  applied  himself 
to  the  task  of  investigating  with  that  admirable  energy, 
skill,  and  thoroughness  which  have  been  so  highly  appre- 
ciated, not  only  by  the  friends  of  our  Mission,  but  also 
by  those  who  from  other  standpoints  regard  our  work 
with  a  keen  interest. 


THE   REV.   T.   J.   COMBER. 
Photo  :  Debenham  &  Gould. 


THE  REV.  W.  HOLMAN  BENTLEV,  D.D. 
Photo :  Frank  Holmes. 


THE  REV.  THOMAS  LEWIS 
Photo  :  Wickens,  Bangor. 


Exciting"  Risks  209 

*  The  Kwa  River  had  already  been  visited  by  Messrs. 
Grenfell  and  Comber  ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  previous 
year  we  received  an  account  of  Mr.  Grenfell's  journey 
over  the  1080  miles  of  waterway  on  the  main  river,  as 
far  as  Stanley  Falls.  The  seven  cataracts  which  consti- 
tute these  Falls  are  passable  by  canoes,  and  thence  the 
river  is  navigable  almost  as  far  as  to  Nyangwe.  Mr. 
Grenfell  also  examined  the  Mbura  and  Aruwimi  rivers, 
and  others  of  less  importance,  ascending  the  Ukere 
(Loila)  for  100  miles,  and  the  Lomami  for  a  distance  of 
100  miles ;  also  the  great  waterway  of  the  Mubangi 
for  more  than  400  miles,  thus  discovering  the  true 
highway  to  the  Southern  Soudan.  It  was  a  journey  of 
4000  miles,  of  which  one-third  was  in  waters  previously 
altogether  unknown. 

*  There  were  yet  some  important  rivers  which  needed 
examination,  and  in  August  Mr.  Grenfell  ascended  the 
Lulongo-Maringa  for  a  distance  of  400  miles  ;  also  the 
Black  River  and  its  affluent,  the  Juapa,  for  another  400 
miles.  These  investigations  having  been  completed,  we 
have  the  necessary  material  for  the  formation  of  our 
plans. 

'  It  has  pained  us  much  to  learn  that  our  purpose  in 
these  investigations  has,  in  some  quarters,  been  mis- 
understood. It  may  be  exciting,  but  it  is  certainly  far 
from  pleasant  to  be  a  target  for  poisoned  arrows,  or  to 
run  the  frequent  risk  of  being  speared,  and  perhaps 
eaten  by  wild  cannibals.  The  accounts  may  be  thrill- 
ing, but  whatever  aspects  such  work  may  present  to 
those  who  think  the  matter  over  beside  their  comfortable 
fireside  at  home,  certainly  those  of  us  who  have  been 
obliged  to  do  pioneering  work,  almost  ad  nauseam, 
would  infinitely  prefer  quiet  Mission  work  on  our 
stations   to   the  privations   and   exposure   which  must 

P 


2  10  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

inevitably  attend  all  such  journeys  into  the  unknown 
interior. 

'Mr.  Grenfell  has  repressed  these  feelings,  and  has 
performed  the  duties  which  fell  to  him  in  so  masterly  a 
manner,  and  records  his  information  in  so  interesting 
a  style,  that  some  of  our  friends  who  read  the  account 
regard  it  as  a  charming  excursion  only.  Shall  we  blame 
Mr.  Grenfell  for  not  grumbling  at  weariness,  privation, 
dangers,  and  inconvenience  ;  or  because  he  abstains 
from  making  stock  of  the  risk  to  wife  and  child,  whose 
presence  seems  to  have  done  more  than  anything  else  to 
make  the  journey  a  success  ?  Shall  we  not  rather  admire 
the  dauntless  courage  and  self-abnegation  which  enabled 
him  to  perform  his  task  with  good  grace  ? ' 

In  Pioneering  on  the  Congo  Bentley  gives  a  charming 
picture  of  the  missionary-explorer  at  work  on  the  '  Peace.' 
*  Hour  after  hour  on  those  long  journeys  Grenfell  stood 
behind  his  prismatic  compass,  taking  the  bearings  of 
point  after  point  as  they  appeared  ;  estimating  from  time 
to  time  the  speed  of  the  steamer,  and  correcting  all  the 
work  as  occasion  offered  by  astronomical  observations. 
When  the  steamer  was  running,  his  food  had  to  be 
brought  to  him,  unless  in  some  straighter  run  towards  a 
distant  point  he  could  slip  away  for  a  few  minutes.' 

And  now  to  the  letters. 

On  August  21,  1884,  Grenfell  writes  from  Stanley 
Pool  to  his  sister-in-law  and  friend  and  valued  corre- 
spondent, Miss  Hawkes,  of  Birmingham — 

'  I  am  enclosing  you  the  list  of  things  I  wish  you 
would  buy  for  us.  Walter  will  give  you  £y,  which  I  am 
asking  Scholefields  to  pay  to  him.  You  must  have  the 
goods  packed  in  a  tin-lined  case,  or  else  buy  a  tin  trunk, 
and  put  them  inside,  covering  the  trunk  again  with  a 
wooden  case.     Some  of  our  things  have  come  up  in  a 


*Eig*ht  Little  Imps'         211 

dreadful  state,  in  consequence  of  the  rain  having  soaked 
through  and  through  in  the  three  weeks'  journey  over- 
land. Especially  in  one  case,  where  Mother  packed 
jam  and  pudding  together,  and  Mr.  Bennett  put  in  some 
shoes.  When  the  consignment  reached  us  one  could 
scarcely  tell  which  was  pudding  and  jam,  and  which  was 
shoes.  The  pudding  and  jam  had  fermented,  and  mixed 
up  round  everything.  Such  a  mess  you  never  saw  ! 
I've  some  more  things  on  the  road  about  which  I'm  in  a 
stew :  a  package  which  contains  photos  from  Stratford 
Road.     I  half  expect  to  receive  a  lot  of  pulp. 

*  I  am  hoping  to  get  away  next  month  for  a  long  trip 
up  river.  If  all  goes  well,  I  shall  not  be  back  till 
January  or  February.  I  want  to  be  able  to  write  some- 
thing home  about  the  Aruwimi  and  Welle  Rivers,  on 
which  Mr.  Arthington  lays  such  stress.  I  take  Mamma 
and  baby  with  me,  and  some  of  our  household  young- 
sters. Comber  and  I  took  eight  little  imps  ;  didn't  they 
give  us  a  doing  ?  And  yet  here  I  find  myself  preparing 
to  take  another  batch.  Comber  would  like  to  go  with 
me,  but  he  is  very  far  from  well,  and  must  get  away  to 
England  without  delay.  I  hear  by  a  round-about  way 
that  an  engineer  is  on  the  way  out.  I  hope  he  will  be 
on  the  spot  before  I  start.  It  will  relieve  me  of  a  lot  of 
worry,  though  the  lack  of  an  engineer  won't  stop  my 
going. 

'  I  enclose  you  a  copy  of  the  first  printing  done  at 
the  Pool — the  first  column  is  Kishi  Congo,  the  third 
Kiyanse  ;  that's  the  language  spoken  up  river  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  distance  I've  traversed.  I  simply 
intended  to  get  out  a  few  lesson  sheets  for  our  boys, 
but  now  Dr.  Sims  and  I  are  trying  to  get  up  a  small 
vocabulary  between  us. 

'  I  am  also  commencing  a  new  house,  that  is,  I  am 


2 1 2  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

preparing  for  it — sawing  timber,  dubbing  posts,  etc.,  etc. 
Our  present  place  has  an  earth  floor,  dreadfully  dusty  in 
the  dry  season,  and  miserably  cold  and  damp  in  the  wet. 
It  is  just  between  the  two  seasons  now,  and  very  cold 
night  and  morning.  Only  fancy,  I  often  sleep  under 
three  blankets !  .  .  . 

'  Cruickshank  arrived  here  three  days  ago.  He 
stays  here  while  I  go  up  river.     I  like  him  very  much.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Stanley  Pool,  Oct.  4. 

*  I  hoped  to  have  been  away  up  country  before  this, 
but  Africa's  a  dreadful  place  for  delays.  Ten  days  ago 
Mr.  Comber  and  Peggy  started  homeward-bound.  Four 
days  ago  I  received  news  that  Minns,  the  new  engineer, 
was  dead  at  Ngombe  !  Yesterday  came  news  by  one  of 
the  Livingstone  Inland  Mission  men  that  one  of  our 
Cameroons  people  whom  we  left  at  Lukolela  was  dead ! 
All  these  things  have  to  be  written  about,  accounts  made 
up  and  settled — duties  which  take  a  lot  of  time  as  well 
as  oppress  one  by  their  own  sheer  weight.  That  Minns, 
the  fourth  man  sent  out  for  the  "Peace,"  should  have 
succumbed  like  his  predecessors  before  reaching  his 
destination  is  indeed  strange. 

'  I  don't  know  what  to  think.  I  am  stricken  dumb 
by  the  unparalleled  series  of  disasters  in  getting  the  men 
up ;  and  yet  I  cannot  but  acknowledge  God's  rich 
blessing  on  the  work  I've  had  in  hand.  This  much  I 
know — I  won't  ask  for  another  man  to  be  sent  out.  I 
sometimes  blame  myself  that  I  ever  spoke  about  it.  If 
I  had  thought  one  life  was  to  have  been  sacrificed  that 
I  might  have  help,  I  would  never  have  done  so.  Yet 
now  there  are  four  gone  !  I  must  make  the  best  of  the 
resources  we   have,  and    drill    our    country   boys    into 


Caug'ht  like  Fish  213 

engineers  and  stokers  and  sailors.  I  seemed  to  wish  to 
devote  myself  more  exclusively  to  Mission  work  direct  ; 
the  Lord  seems  to  say,  "  Make  use  of  the  people  you  have  ; 
make  them  help  themselves,  by  doing  the  work  of  the 
steamer."  You  will  see  by  the  enclosed  bit  of  printing 
that  I  am  trying  to  drill  the  mystery  of  bookmaking 
into  their  heads.  One  of  my  boys,  Joaque,  does  all  the 
type-setting. 

'We  are  sending  a  little  Aruwimi  girl  home  with 
Peg.  She  comes  from  right  away  up  the  Congo,  some 
800  miles  beyond  this,  and  is  a  ransomed  slave.  As 
she  and  her  two  little  compatriots  were  sitting  round 
our  fire  the  other  evening,  we  heard  them  singing 
dolefully  about  being  "  caught  like  fish  in  the  water  by 
the  Betamba  tamba "  (Arabs).  The  dismal  tone  and 
melancholy  marking  time  by  swaying  their  bodies  and 
clapping  their  hands  were  very  sad.' 

Later  in  October  Grenfell  set  out  upon  perhaps  the 
greatest  of  his  voyages,  notable,  in  chief,  for  the 
exploration  of  the  Mubangi,  which  he  ascended  for 
some  400  miles  of  its  course,  encountering  gravest 
perils,  through  which  he  was  safely  brought  by  the  good 
hand  of  God  which  was  upon  him.  On  December  25 
he  writes  to  Miss  Hawkes  from  Stanley  Falls,  describing 
the  strangest  Christmas  Day  he  had  ever  spent,  and  the 
poorest  Christmas  dinner  he  had  ever  eaten,  a '  calamity ' 
which  he  is  sure  will  command  the  commiseration  of  his 
friends.  '  Fried  fish,  cassada  roots,  and  a  one  pound  tin 
of  preserved  plum  pudding  between  four  of  us,'  with 
only  the  modicum  of  plum  pudding  to  break  the 
monotony  of  a  long  previous  course  of  fried  fish,  is 
certainly  a  touching  bill  of  fare.  But  he  is  as  well  and 
happy  as  he  ever  was,  only  regretting  that  he  cannot 


2  14  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

drop  into  the  midst  of  his  friends  at  home  for  the  day, 
and  be  back  the  next  morning. 

This  letter,  begun  on  Christmas  Day  at  Stanley  Falls, 
was  finished  on  March  30,  at  Stanley  Pool.  On  the  latter 
date  he  writes — 

'You  will  see  from  the  other  side  that  I  thought 
about  you  on  Christmas  Day,  but  did  not  finish  my  letter, 
as  I  intended  to  do  ;  and  here  I  am,  three  weeks  after 
my  return,  just  sending  off  a  mere  scrap,  to  let  you  know 
I  am  still  in  the  land  of  the  living.  Thank  God  we  are 
safely  back  !  It  might  have  been  otherwise,  for  we  have 
encountered  perils  not  a  few.  But  the  winds,  which 
sometimes  were  simply  terrific,  and  the  rocks,  which 
knocked  three  holes  in  the  steamer  as  we  were  running 
away  at  night  from  cannibals,  have  not  wrecked  us. 
We  have  been  attacked  by  natives  about  twenty  different 
times,  we  have  been  stoned  and  shot  at  with  arrows,  and 
have  been  the  marks  for  spears  more  than  we  can  count. 
Our  only  casualty  was  one  of  our  boys  slightly  wounded 
with  a  poisoned  arrow.  We  burned  the  wound  with 
caustic  at  once,  and  no  ill  results  followed.  Our  great 
difficulty  was  in  the  new  countries,  where  the  natives 
had  never  seen  a  white  man,  and  where  they  all  seemed 
to  be  at  war  with  one  another  ;  for  every  village  was 
fortified.  People  got  up  the  trees  to  shoot  at  us,  and 
seeing  we  did  nothing,  came  down  and  followed  us  in 
their  canoes.  Other  people  on  ahead,  thinking  we  ran 
away,  came  out  to  meet  us. 

'It  was  too  much  to  think  of  pegging  away  any 
longer  against  such  opposition,  and  as  we  were  four 
months  out  from  the  Pool,  I  determined  to  give  it  up 
and  go  back.  It  was  night,  or  nearly  so,  and  we  could 
not  think  of  anchoring  there,  so  I  determined  to  risk 
coming  down  in  the  dark,  and  but  for  very  special  mercy 


Twenty  Bupnt  Villag^es      215 

we  should  have  been  lost  on  the  rock  I  spoke  of  before, 
for  the  water  came  into  one  of  the  compartments  faster 
than  we  could  bale  it  out.  There  are  a  thousand  things 
to  tell,  but  you  will  be  glad  to  get  a  short  note  rather 
than  wait  till  next  mail  for  a  longer  one. 

*  Your  kind  letters  are  here,  and  have  been  duly  read 
and  enjoyed.  I'm  only  sorry  I  cannot  better  repay  you 
with  news  in  return.  So  you've  seen  poor  Peg.  I  wish 
I  could  have  a  look  at  her.' 

To  Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes. 

March  30. 

*  We  spent  Christmas  at  Stanley  Falls  ;  New  Year's 
day  we  were  up  the  Lubilast.  We  saw  the  famous 
Tippoo  Tib  at  Stanley  Falls.  He  had  300  men 
with  him,  and  had  sent  700  down  river  trading  (rather 
"  raiding,"  for  we  counted  twenty  burnt  villages  and 
thousands  of  fugitive  canoes).  He  says  he  has  2000 
more  men  coming,  and  talks  of  making  his  way  down 
to  the  Atlantic — says  that  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar 
claims  all  the  Congo,  right  down  to  the  sea  ! !  Tippoo 
Tib  is  without  doubt  the  master,  at  the  present  moment, 
of  the  Upper  River  Congo.  I  think  the  Expedition 
will  stop  his  slave  raiding  as  soon  as  they  get  their 
big  steamer  afloat  ;  but  in  the  meantime  horrors  un- 
tenable. I  cannot  write  about  it  now ;  I  only  refer 
to  it  that  you  may  have  an  idea  of  the  course  of 
events. 

*  During  the  five  months'  journey  I  was  enabled  to 
make,  we  traversed  some  600  miles  of  waterway  never 
previously  visited  by  a  European.  The  Lubilast  we 
ascended  as  far  as  1°  33'  south.  It  was  still  open,  but 
the  current  was  very  strong,  four  to  five  miles  per  hour, 
and  even  more  sometimes,  and  terribly  tortuous.     The 


2 1 6  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

people  are  wild  and  treacherous  ;  for,  several  times,  after 
a  period  of  apparently  amicable  intercourse  and  satis- 
factory dealing,  without  any  other  cause  than  their  own 
sheer  "cussedness,"  as  the  Yankees  would  say,  they  let 
fly  their  poisoned  arrows  at  us.  The  Ukere  River  we 
navigated  as  far  as  2°  50'  north,  when  we  were  stopped 
by  a  fall.  The  Mbura  divides  into  two  branches,  the 
smaller  is  blocked  by  a  sheer  fall  of  50  ft.,  the  north-east 
one  is  barred  by  a  rapid,  which,  with  suitable  tackle,  we 
shall  be  able  to  pass  on  another  occasion.  The  most 
important  geographical  result  was  my  being  able  to 
ascend  the  Mubangi  River  as  far  as  4/  30'  north,  and 
leaving  it  there,  a  magnificent  waterway  half  a  mile 
wide,  stretching  away  nobody  knows  how  far.  My  idea 
is,  that  it  is  the  Welle  of  Schweinfurth.  Have  sent 
details  to  Royal  Geographical  Society.  On  ordinary 
maps  the  sources  of  the  Binue  occupy  the  place  I 
reached  on  this  stream,  which  flow  in  the  opposite 
direction.  The  Mubangi  joins  the  Congo  26  miles 
south  of  the  Equator,  the  course  for  350  miles  being  a 
mean  south  by  west.  It  is  one  of  the  largest,  if  not  the 
largest  affluent  falling  into  the  main  stream. 

'  I  returned  on  March  9,  exactly  a  year  after  my 
return  from  my  first  journey,  when  I  met  such  a  lot  of 
bad  tidings.  March  9  is  to  be  a  memorable  day  for  me, 
for  I  met  this  time  news  of  Mr.  Craven's  (L.I.M.)  death, 
Dr.  Comber  had  died  on  Christmas  Eve,  Macmillan 
died  on  the  day  of  my  arrival,  and  Cruickshank  two 
days  previously.  This  is  not  a  letter,  only  a  note. 
It  leaves  important  topics  untouched,  because  of  the 
impossibility  of  dealing  with  them  ;  but  I  have  no 
doubt  you  will  see  further  details  in  the  Herald.  Eyes, 
head  and  heart  are  aching.  May  the  good  Lord  help 
the  Congo  Mission  !     We  are  down  very  low.     Only  six 


To  the   Pool  in  a  Hammock    217 

of  us  out  here.     As  usual,  I'm  alone.     Thanks  for  the 
kind  letters  I  find  awaiting  me.' 

To  Mrs.  Hartland. 

Stanley  Pool,  May  2. 

*  As  I  told  you  in  the  scrap  which  accompanies  this, 
I  was  busy  after  my  arrival  in  getting  the  steamer  out 
of  the  water,  being  anxious  to  have  her  "  docked  "  and 
ready  for  launching  again  before  the  water  fell  too  low. 
A  few  days  after  my  return  a  note  came  up  from 
Mr.  Darling :  "  I'm  very  ill,  and  need  help  "  ;  and  it 
was  decided  that  Whitley  should  go  down  to  Wathen, 
especially  as  we  received  news  through  the  Expedition 
that  made  us  fear  more  than  Darling's  note.  I  had 
struggled  on,  and  had  the  steamer  half-way  in  the  water 
on  the  8th  ultimo,  when  a  message  came  from  Wathen, 
stating  that  Whitley  was  in  a  critical  state,  and  begging 
me  to  go  down.  So,  finishing  the  launch,  I  started  off 
on  the  following  day,  and  happily  found  Whitley  much 
better,  though  still  in  fever.  The  fever  remained 
obstinate,  and  never  entirely  left  him  during  the  four 
days  I  stayed  at  Wathen  ;  but  as  it  was  only  loi''  and 
102°  during  the  latter  part  of  the  time,  I  determined  to 
carry  him  up  to  the  Pool  in  a  hammock,  and  start  him 
off  up  river  in  the  "  Henry  Reed,"  in  the  hope  of  its  bene- 
ficial effect.  The  journey  seemed  to  work  wonders,  the 
fever  was  shaken  off,  and  Whitley  was  quite  like  himself 
again  by  the  time  of  our  arrival.  He  was  just  in  time 
to  catch  the  "Henry  Reed,"  and  now  must  be  well  on 
his  way  to  the  Equator ;  we  are  expecting  him  back 
on  the  20th.  These  sicknesses  at  Wathen  make  us 
very  nervous,  and  I  can  only  hope  God  will  deal  more 
gently  with  us,  and  spare  us  further  loss  at  that  terribly 
costly   place.     Mr.   Darling   is   building   a  new   house 


2i8  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

farther  up  the  hill,  and  I  trust  it  will  prove  a  better 
site.  .  .  . 

*  Bentley  tells  me  that  a  missionary  engineer  is  now 
on  his  way  for  the  "  Peace  " :  this  is  good  news  for  me. 
It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  all  the  ability  to 
work  the  steamer  should  not  be  centred  in  one  poor 
body,  the  possibilities  to  that  "  one  poor  body  "  being 
so  many  and  so  grave.' 

In  a  letter  to  his  college  friend,  the  Rev.  R.  H.  Powell, 
of  Edenbridge,  dated  Stanley  Pool,  July  i,  Grenfell 
speaks  of  encouraging  increase  in  the  school  work  at 
Arthington,  and  gives  a  charming  account  of  a  certain 
boy,  Zwarky,  in  whom  Mr.  Powell  and  his  friends  at 
Edenbridge  have  special  interest.  Grenfell  has  taught 
Zwarky  to  perform  many  important  tasks  on  the  steamer 
and  in  the  printing  office,  and  after  some  further  pro- 
bation, purposes  to  satisfy  his  yearning  for  an  English 
name.  He  is  a  slave.  His  master  wants  him  back. 
But  Grenfell  hopes  to  secure  his  freedom. 

Remarking  upon  recent  heavy  losses,  he  continues : 
'  It  seems  strange  that  God  should  have  blessed  us  so 
very  markedly  for  awhile,  and  then  have  allowed  sorrows 
like  a  flood  to  overtake  us,  yet  "our  trust,  our  trust  is 
in  Him." '  But  for  the  shorthandedness  consequent 
upon  these  losses  he  could  by  this  time  have  been  up 
river  again.  None  the  less  he  is  hopeful.  '  Leopoldville 
is  a  very  healthy  place,  and  is  fast  attracting  new-comers. 
Trading  companies  are  establishing  new  stations. 
Stanley's  new  steamer  is  nearly  all  here.  It  has  been 
fifteen  months  coming  up  to  the  Pool  from  the  sea-coast. 
By  its  mere  presence  it  will  do  much  toward  driving  the 
slave-raiding  Arabs  off  the  river.  If  they  are  allowed  un- 
molested to  pursue  their  course,  a  few  years  will  devastate 
both  banks.   They  cause  untold  misery  wherever  they  go. 


A  Rejected  Barg-ain         219 

The  third  voyage  of  the  '  Peace '  was  commenced  on 
August  2,  1885.  Grenfell  took  with  him  upon  this 
occasion  his  wife  and  child,  a  German  explorer  named 
von  Frangois,  and  eight  of  the  Mission  school-children. 
These  children  were  not  taken  only  for  their  own  sakes. 
Being  slaves  or  the  children  of  slaves,  they  had  come 
from  distant  places,  retained  some  knowledge  of  their 
original  language,  and  were  sometimes  able  to  act  as 
interpreters.  '  It  was  decided  on  this  third  voyage  to 
explore  some  of  the  mighty  affluents  entering  the  Congo 
in  the  Equatorial  region  from  the  east  or  south.'  ^ 

The  Lulongo-Maringa  was  ascended  some  four 
hundred  miles,  and  afterwards  the  Black  River  (Buruki) 
with  its  confluents  Busira  and  Juapa,  which,  some  sixty 
miles  up  from  the  Congo,  unite  to  form  the  main  stream. 
The  reception  awaiting  Grenfell  at  various  towns  was 
sometimes  friendly  and  sometimes  hostile.  Often  con- 
ciliatory measures  changed  enmity  into  amity ;  sometimes 
his  utmost  efforts  failed  to  placate,  and  secured  nothing 
better  than  poisoned  arrows.  On  the  Juapa  the  people 
were  cannibals.  In  one  place  '  they  offered  him  a  fine- 
looking  woman  as  a  wife,  in  return  for  a  plump  boatman 
whom  they  wanted  to  eat.'^  Grenfell  wrote  a  vivid 
account  of  this  journey  for  the  Missionary  Herald,^  and 
Sir  Harry  Johnston  has  given  an  excellent  summary  of 
the  story,  incorporating  valuable  scientific  notes.  I 
quote  one  passage  of  Grenfell' s  letter,  for  its  own  sake, 
and  as  a  further  specimen  of  his  descriptive  writing  : 

'  Since  leaving  the  Pool,  we  had  only  been  able  to 
buy  two  or  three  fowls  and  a  few  smoked  fish,  and  it 
was  therefore  not  surprising  that  our  crew  were  getting 

'  Sir  H.  H.  Johnston's  George  Grenfell  and  the  Congo,  p.  135. 
-■  Sir  H.  H.  Johnston,  p.  141. 
'  Volume  for  1886,  p.  no. 


220  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

hungry  for  meat,  and  that  they  gladly  hailed  our  approach 
to  the  hippo  feeding  grounds,  where  we  have  never  failed 
to  make  a  "  bag."  But  it  was  not  so  easy  this  time,  on 
account  of  the  high  water,  for  it  was  not  till  after  we  had 
killed  three  or  four  that  we  managed  to  secure  a  prize, 
and  this  only  because  it  was  killed  outright,  and  unable 
to  move  after  the  ball  struck  ;  for,  after  the  manner  of 
hippos,  he  was  standing  just  on  the  edge  of  deep  water, 
into  which  he  could  almost  have  tumbled  and  been 
beyond  our  reach,  if  only  life  enough  had  been  left  to 
make  a  single  effort.  To  make  him  fast  with  a  rope 
through  a  hole  cut  between  the  bone  and  the  principal 
tendon  of  one  of  his  legs,  and  have  him  alongside,  did 
not  take  many  minutes  ;  and  a  little  later  we  had  towed 
our  ton  or  so  of  flesh  (it  was  only  a  small  one)  to  a  sand- 
bank, which  was  to  serve  as  a  bench  for  cutting  him  up. 
Here,  after  trying  to  drag  our  prize  out  of  the  water  and 
get  him  into  position,  we  had  to  give  up  the  attempt, 
and  to  proceed  to  roll  him  up  the  sloping  bank  like  a 
big  cask. 

'  Before  we  had  finished  the  rolling  process,  the 
natives,  whose  towns  were  on  the  steep  hills  half  a  mile 
or  so  away,  had  begun  to  collect — they  had  seen  us 
coming,  and  judged  that  as  usual  there  would  be  some- 
thing to  eat  of  our  providing.  Some  went  down  to  wait 
for  the  floating  of  those  we  had  failed  to  secure  ;  others, 
to  the  number  of  nearly  two  hundred,  had  collected  by 
the  time  we  had  cut  off  the  legs,  and  were  eagerly  wait- 
ing for  the  signal  which  would  give  them  permission  to 
scramble  for  the  remains.  I  must  say  they  waited  for 
this  signal  with  most  exemplary  patience ;  but  it  was 
no  sooner  given  than  the  carcase  was  surrounded  by  a 
crowd  that  suggested  the  swarming  of  bees.  Some  of 
the  little  fellows  got  in   between  the  legs  of  the   big 


A  Serious  Expostulation    221 

ones,  others  got  in  over  the  heads  and  shoulders  of 
the  first  comers,  while  others  again,  not  being  able  to 
get  near  enough  to  employ  their  knives,  amused  them- 
selves by  pelting  their  more  successful  comrades  with 
wet  sand. 

'  As  soon  as  one  retired  with  as  big  a  piece  as  he  could 
cut  off,  there  were  half  a  dozen  ready  to  take  his  place, 
and  to  engage  in  a  regular  "  scrimmage  "  to  get  it.  I 
was  afraid  at  times  they  would  lose  their  tempers,  and 
seeing  that  every  man  had  a  knife,  and  nearly  every 
man  a  spear,  I  was  very  glad  it  all  went  off  so  merrily, 
and  that  it  ended  up  with  a  regular  good-natured  tug 
of  war,  waist  deep  in  the  water,  to  decide  which  party 
should  get  the  dismantled  ribs.' 

On  his  return  from  the  third  voyage  of  the  '  Peace,' 
Grenfell  found  awaiting  him  at  Stanley  Pool,  a  letter 
from  Sir  Francis  de  Winton,  which  caused  him  no  little 
disquiet.  It  seems  that  on  August  8,  some  two  months 
earlier,  Sir  Francis  had  arrived  at  Stanley  Pool,  expecting 
to  meet  Grenfell,  who,  unaware  of  the  Administrator's 
purposed  visit,  had  started  out  upon  a  long  journey 
some  few  days  previously.  So  Sir  Francis  unburdened 
his  mind  in  a  letter  of  serious  expostulation.  He 
affirmed  that  Grenfell  occupied  a  double  position  upon 
the  Congo  as  missionary  and  explorer.  The  Missionary 
Society  enjoyed  certain  privileges,  and  in  return  was 
pledged  to  acknowledge  and  render  obedience  to  the 
laws  of  the  State.  The  steamer  which  had  been  placed 
upon  the  river  to  maintain  communication  between 
the  Mission  Stations  was  being  used  for  exploring 
purposes,  and  thus  a  new  condition  of  affairs  had  been 
created.  As  a  missionary  he  was  entitled  to  all  help 
and  consideration.  As  an  explorer  he  was  under 
obligation  to  communicate  to  the  State  any  discoveries 


222  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

he  might  make  within  its  territories,  and  to  the  State 
should  belong  all  maps  executed  by  him,  and  all 
observations  taken. 

In  the  opinion  of  Sir  Francis,  exploration  should  not 
be  desultory,  but  systematic,  and  controlled  by  the  chief 
of  the  State ;  exploring  parties  should  be  properly 
equipped  and  armed,  that  the  supremacy  of  the  white 
man  might  be  maintained  ;  and  all  exploring  parties 
should  carry  the  flag  of  the  State.  Of  all  these  laws 
Sir  Francis  understands  Grenfell  to  be  a  transgressor. 
If  he  is  in  error  in  this  regard,  he  invites  correction. 
Meanwhile  he  proceeds  to  support  his  indictment. 
Concerning  Grenfell's  discoveries,  he  has  received 
but  one  short  letter  ;  whereas  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society  of  England  has  received  and  published  important 
maps  and  documents,  to  which  the  State,  surely,  had  a 
prior  claim.  In  a  recent  encounter  with  hostile  natives 
Grenfell  had  behaved  in  a  manner  likely  to  damage  the 
prestige  of  the  white  man.  Moreover,  he  always  carried 
the  English  flag. 

For  the  rest.  Sir  Francis  requires  that  upon  his  return 
Grenfell  shall  forward  to  him  reports  of  his  voyage,  with 
any  maps  which  he  may  have  prepared.  These  will 
be  transmitted  to  the  authorities  in  Belgium,  who  will 
confer  with  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  and  if 
Grenfell's  explorations  are  to  be  continued,  new  clauses 
must  be  inserted  in  the  contract  between  the  State  and 
the  Society.  The  conclusion  runs  thus :  "  I  beg  you  to 
consider  that  in  this  letter  I  desire  to  make  no  personal 
allusions  to  yourself.  You  have  done  very  useful  work, 
but  the  State  has  certain  rights  which  may  possibly 
never  have  occurred  to  you,  but  which  it  is  my  duty  to 
maintain." 

This  document   stung   Grenfell  severely,  and  if  he 


Gpenfell's  Reply  223 

had  met  Sir  Francis  immediately  after  receiving  it,  the 
ensuing  discussion  would  not  have  lacked  warmth.  But 
he  calmed  himself,  and  wrote  a  reply,  conciliatory, 
dignified,  and  conclusive.  I  regret  that  it  is  too  long  to 
reproduce  in  full.  The  opening  sentences  may,  how- 
ever, be  transcribed : — 

'  Upon  my  return  to  this  place,  a  few  days  ago,  I 
was  greatly  troubled  to  find  that  in  your  estimation 
I  occupied  such  a  position  as  called  for  your  serious 
letter  of  August  8.  However,  you  are  good  enough, 
in  the  last  clause  of  your  communication,  to  admit  the 
possibility  of  the  "  rights "  in  question  never  having 
occurred  to  me.  In  fact,  your  intimation  that  in  the 
British  Colonies  subjects  are  not  free  to  go  where  they 
will,  and  that  the  State  has  the  "right"  to  possess 
itself  of  the  fruits  of  a  civilian's  labours,  comes  upon 
me  as  a  great  surprise.  I  am,  however,  quite  open 
to  conviction,  and  I  trust  that  if  I  have  transgressed, 
you  will  attribute  it  to  my  entire  lack  of  experience 
as  to  the  course  followed  in  newly  acquired  colonies 
or  recently  formed  States,  rather  than  to  disloyalty  on 
my  part.' 

Affirming  his  friendliness  to  the  State,  and  his  pain 
that  this  should  be  doubted,  Grenfell  goes  on  to  express 
surprise  at  the  importance  which  had  been  attached  to 
his  '  meagre  sketches  and  observations.'  He  has  never 
spoken  of  his  work  as  'Surveys,'  or  'Explorations': 
he  does  not  possess  an  explorer's  equipment,  and  he  is 
not  responsible  for  other  people's  talk  about  himself. 
Such  as  they  were,  the  results  of  his  journeys  had  been 
accessible  to  any  who  had  interest  in  them,  save  to 
certain  people  specified,  who  were  not  friends  of  the 
State. 

News  of  his  first  journey  was  conveyed  to  a  Belo-ian 


224  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

officer,  before  any  letter  from  himself  had  reached 
England.  The  said  officer  asked  for  information,  and 
liberty  to  publish  it,  and  received  both.  The  Belgian 
authorities  could  not  have  been  surprised  by  the  use 
of  the  steamer  '  Peace,'  in  traversing  previously  unvisited 
affluents  of  the  Congo,  as  a  clause  which  would  have 
barred  this  was  struck  out  of  the  first  agreement,  at 
the  request  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society;  'and 
full  liberty  was  left  us  to  get  as  near  as  we  could  to 
the  valley  of  the  Shari,  which  was  widely  published 
as  one  of  the  objects  for  which  our  steamer  was 
given.' 

As  regards  the  flag  ;  he  will  buy  one.  In  the  matter 
of  his  behaviour  in  collision  with  hostile  natives,  there 
has  been  gross  mistake,  which  he  proceeds  to  correct. 
He  will  at  once  commence  the  preparation  of  maps  and 
reports  of  his  most  recent  *  Explorations,'  but  pressure 
of  other  duties  may  delay  their  completion.  If  they 
compare  ill  with  the  work  of  explorers  proper,  it  must 
be  remembered  that,  having  been  both  captain  and 
engineer,  his  attention  to  the  making  of  observations 
has  been  less  complete  than  he  could  have  wished. 

The  brevity  of  his  letter  to  Sir  Francis  was  due, 
first,  to  pressure  of  work,  and  secondly  to  the  hope  that 
he  would  shortly  be  seeing  him,  with  opportunity  for 
communicating  all.  He  greatly  regrets  that  he  was 
absent  when  Sir  Francis  arrived  in  August,  and  would 
have  delayed  departure,  had  he  known  of  his  coming. 
The  letter  concludes  :  '  Trusting  I  have  convinced  you, 
and  hoping  yet  to  more  fully  prove  that  I  am  not 
one  of  those  against  whom  the  State  needs  to  be  "  pro- 
tected "  :  with  my  sincere  personal  regards  for  yourself, 
I  remain,  etc' 

When  the  two  men  met,  a  month  later,  Sir  Francis 


A  Beautiful  Tribute  225 

admitted  that  he  had  been  misinformed,  withdrew  from 
the  obstructive  position  which  he  had  assumed,  and  left 
Grenfell  free  to  go  on  as  before,  except  that  hereafter  in 
his  going  he  carried  the  State  flag  as  well  as  the  flag 
of  England. 

As  Sir  Francis  de  Winton  was  himself  a  Christian 
gentleman,  entirely  sympathetic  with  Grenfell's  ideals, 
the  correction  which  he  invited,  received,  and  acknow- 
ledged generated  no  bitterness.  This  is  amply  proved 
by  the  beautiful  tribute  which  he  paid  to  Grenfell's 
character  and  work  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society,  June  i,  1886.  Having  described, 
in  brief,  the  geographical  achievements  of  the  Baptist 
missionary,  he  said  :  '  Let  us  also  hope  that  Mr.  Grenfell 
may  be  allowed  to  finish  this  all-important  work  for  the 
future  of  Africa  ;  for,  in  addition  to  his  high  merits  as 
an  explorer,  he  is  an  earnest,  large-minded,  devout 
Christian  missionary,  and  has  gained  for  himself  the 
reputation  of  being  a  most  painstaking  and  accurate 
observer,  loved  by  all  and  trusted  by  all — a  true  Christian 
pioneer.' 

From  October,  1885,  to  the  end  of  February,  1886, 
Grenfell  was  at  Stanley  Pool,  elaborating  his  geo- 
graphical records,  and  attending  to  the  general  work 
of  the  Mission.  During  this  period  his  anxieties 
were  many  and  grave.  In  the  interview  with  Sir 
Francis  de  Winton,  referred  to  above,  he  was  startled 
by  the  Administrator  General's  intimation  that  the 
whole  question  of  missionary  allotments  was  under 
reconsideration  at  Brussels. 

Grenfell  writes  that  he  would  not  object  to  a  plan 
for  the  prevention  of  overlapping,  if  the  Roman  Catholics 
would   respect  the  arrangement.      He  hopes  that  the 

Q 


226  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

Committee  will  not  assent  to  any  new  allotment  scheme, 
without  consulting  the  brethren  in  the  field.  Another 
scare  came  upon  him,  when  Sir  Francis  suggested  that 
the  site  at  Lukolela  had  better  not  be  occupied. 
Heavy  anxieties  were  also  occasioned  by  the  retro- 
gressive policy  of  the  State  upon  the  upper  river.  The 
State  stations  at  Lukolela  and  Bolobo  had  been 
abandoned,  the  Equator  station  was  to  be  relinquished, 
those  at  Bangala  and  Kwamouth  were  held  in  sus- 
pense. 

The  Falls  station  was  dominated  by  Tippoo  Tib, 
whose  patronage  of  the  white  man  had  been  purchased 
at  the  price  of  non-interference  with  his  nefarious 
business.  The  river  above  Bangala  was  closed  to 
navigation  in  October,  and  concerning  this  restric- 
tion, dictated  by  the  hostility  of  the  natives  and  the 
weakness  of  the  State,  Grenfell  says  :  '  We  are  safe 
enough,  if  we  may  run  away.  But  to  this  the  State 
objects.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Stanley  Pool,  December  7. 

'  The  State,  on  account  of  the  expense  involved  in 

the  maintenance  of  its  present  site  on  the  hillside,  has 

under  consideration  the  question  of  removing  to  Nshasha, 

some  four  or  five  miles  farther  up  river.     The  present 

Administrator  General  advises  it ;  but  that  fact  in  itself 

may  be  a  good  reason  why  the    future  Administrator 

General  should  oppose  it.     Like  the  State,  we  too  have 

felt  the  difficulty  which  obtains  in  getting  a  good  site  in 

our  present  location,  and  have  also  cast  about  for  a  plot 

of  level  ground.     This  we  have  found  about  three  miles 

up  stream,  in  the  direction  of  Nshasha,  and  have  secured 

a  provisional  treaty  from  Sir  Francis  do  Winton  for  it. 


Chang-ing*  Location  227 

This  was  all  the  more  easily  arranged,  as  the  papers  for 
our  present  site  have  not  yet  been  definitely  signed  in 
Brussels. 

*  During  the  dry  season  we  excavated  some  20,000 
cubic  feet  of  the  hillside  to  form  a  terrace,  but  as  soon 
as  the  rainy  season  commenced  it  became  quite  plain 
that  it  would  never  do  to  put  houses  on  it,  unless  we 
were  prepared  for  either  continuous  heavy  expenses  for 
maintenance,  or  for  the  constant  risk  of  an  absolute 
collapse  of  our  buildings.  We  shall  regret  very  much 
to  leave  our  present  coign  of  vantage,  and  relinquish 
the  magnificent  views  of  the  Pool  and  the  Falls  ;  but  it 
is  more  important  that  we  should  be  securely  placed, 
and  that  we  should  be  nearer  to  the  beach  than  we  are 
at  present.  There  are  many  difficulties  in  occupying  a 
site  200  feet  above  the  water,  when  we  have  so  much 
to  do  at  the  water's  edge.  Mr.  Comber  and  the 
brethren  here  agree  most  emphatically  as  to  the 
advisability  of  the  step.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Stanley  Pool,  December  27. 

*  I  had  the  happiness  to  see  Comber  back  again  last 
month.  He  looks  capitally  well,  and  is  full  of  spirits. 
All  the  men  who  came  out  with  him  have  had  a  taste  of 
fever,  but  are  pulling  themselves  together  again.  We 
are  devoutly  thankful  they  have  been  spared  to  us,  and 
trust  God  will  preserve  them  long.' 

On  February  24,  1886,  Grenfell  commenced  his  fourth 
voyage  in  the  '  Peace,'  purposing  to  visit  Stanley  Falls. 
He  took  with  him  Baron  von  Nimptsch,  who  had 
business  at  the  Falls  with  Tippoo  Tib,  and  Lieutenant 
Wissmann,  who  desired  to  be  conveyed  up  the  Kasai 


228  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

and  the  Luala.  The  Lieutenant's  affairs  were  of  so 
great  importance  to  the  State,  that  Grenfell  was  con- 
strained to  comply  with  his  request.  But  he  was  under 
obligation,  which  could  not  be  broken,  to  convey  four 
Lolango  men  to  the  Equator,  for  the  American  Baptist 
Missionary  Union,  before  March  15.  So  the  journey  to 
the  Falls  was  by  no  means  direct.  First  he  made  for 
the  Equator ;  then  back  to  Kwamouth,  and  up  the  Kasai 
and  the  Lulua  with  Lieutenant  Wissmann  ;  then  back 
again  to  Kwamouth,  and  finally  up  the  Congo  to  the 
Falls.  The  original  incentive  of  this  long,  adventurous, 
and  most  important  voyage  was  very  simple.  Grenfell 
shall  give  it  in  his  own  words. 

'  The  immediate  reason  for  my  going  to  the  Falls 
just  now  lies  in  the  fact  that  when  I  was  up  there, 
fourteen  months  ago.  Dr.  Sims  and  I  got  a  couple  of 
boys  from  Tippoo  Tib,  and  promised  to  return  with 
them  in  a  year  or  so.  I  am  hoping  to  bring  the 
boys  down  with  me  again  ;  they  will  gladly  return 
if  they  only  have  the  chance.  Hamisi  has  been 
with  us,  Suliman  with  Dr.  Sims  and  the  American 
Baptist  Missionary  Union ;  they  are  about  thirteen 
and  fifteen  respectively,  and  are  both  smart,  promising 
fellows,  especially  the  younger  one.  We  shall  all  be 
very  sorry  to  lose  him,  and  I  know  his  schoolfellows, 
with  whom  he  is  very  popular,  will  miss  him  very  much. 
I'm  sorry  to  say,  however,  that  it  is  the  bold,  wild  side 
of  his  character,  and  his  faculty  for  recounting  most 
graphically  the  tragic  details  of  slave-raids  in  which  he 
has  been  engaged  (he  used  to  carry  a  spare  rifle  and 
extra  cartridges  for  Tippoo  Tib),  which  in  no  small 
degree  account  for  his  popularity  with  our  timid  Congo 
lads.  He  has  been  to  Zanzibar,  has  seen  the  sea  and 
the  big  ships,  and  his  Majesty  the  Sultan — so  is  quite  a 


An  Ishmaelite  229 

traveller.  I  should  indeed  be  happy  if  we  could  hope 
that  the  grace  of  God  had  already  touched  his  heart 
and  was  moulding  it  into  milder  mood.  At  present  he 
is  pretty  much  of  an  Ishmaelite,  though  he  knows,  and 
in  his  quieter  moments  acknowledges,  the  advantages 
of  our  "  better  way."  ' 

NOTE. 

Grenfell's  name  will  appear  on  the  map  of  Africa.  At  the 
instance  of  Sir  Harry  Johnston  geographers  have  agreed  to 
christen  the  series  of  rapids  which  interrupt  navigation  on  the 
Mubangi,  *  Grenfell  Falls.'  These  rapids  extend  for  a  distance 
of  forty-five  miles,  beginning  with  the  Rapid  of  Mokwangai 
and  ending  with  the  final  Zongo  Fall.  See  George  Grenfell 
and  the  Congo^  pp.  132,  348,  note  2. 


CHAPTER   XI 

FROM  AUTUMN,  1884,  TO  AUTUMN, 
1887— Continued 

A  Destructive  Fire— Position  of  Arabs— A  Brave  Official— Mr. 
Arthington's  Inquiries  —  Dock  Difficulties  —  Arab  Success  at 
Stanley  Falls— Lukolela  Station  founded— A  Letter  of  Thanks 
—The  Kwango— Homeward  Bound— Scarcity — Interview  with 
the  King  of  the  Belgians— Heavy  Tidings— Death  of  Comber— 
Grenfell's  Anxiety  to  return  to  the  Congo— Translation  Work 
— Programme  of  Work. 

AFTER  four  months'  voyaging  Grenfell  reached 
Stanley  Pool  on  the  evening  of  June  25  to  find 
big  trouble  awaiting  him.  In  his  absence,  prepara- 
tions had  been  made  for  the  removal  of  the  station 
from  the  site  at  Leopoldville,  granted  to  the  Mission 
by  Stanley,  to  a  more  convenient  site,  near  Kinshasa, 
which  the  State  had  agreed  to  give  in  exchange  for  the 
old  location.  The  new  buildings  were  well  forward,  but 
all  the  stores  were  still  in  the  flimsy,  dilapidated  struc- 
tures at  Leopoldville,  when  a  grass  fire,  kindled  by  some 
native  boys  on  June  24,  swept  down  upon  the  station, 
and  practically  wiped  it  out. 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

Stanley  Pool,  June  29. 

'  It  is  I  a.m.,  and  the  mail  closes  at  7,  and  as  I  have 
to  get  some  sleep  before  that  hour,  you  will  be  content 
with  a  very  short  letter,  especially  when  I  tell  you 
something  more  of  my  circumstances. 


A  Disastrous  Fire  231 

•We  returned,  all  well,  on  the  evening  of  the  25th, 
after  an  absence  of  four  months,  to  find  that  our  stores 
had  been  entirely  gutted  by  fire  the  day  previously,  and 
were  still  smouldering.  Nothing  but  the  dwelling-houses 
saved.  Up-river  goods,  station  stores,  steamer  stores 
and  spare  gear,  and  our  private  stores  of  food,  clothes, 
etc.,  all  gone.  I  do  not  think  the  total  figure  can  pos- 
sibly be  under  £3000,  and  I  fear  it  may  be  more.  Well, 
all  this  has  rendered  it  needful  for  me  to  dive  into  order- 
ing a  little  of  everything  just  to  go  on  with  ;  and  I  have 
just  finished  the  order  sheets,  and  written  an  advice  note 
to  Mr.  Baynes  that  he  may  expect  debit  notes  to  the 
tune  of  ;i{^400  or  so  almost  at  once. 

'  In  the  meantime  we  shall  have  to  pull  along  as  best 
we  can.  Some  of  us  will,  in  the  native  idiom,  "see 
trouble,"  but  we  seem  pretty  jolly  notwithstanding. 
There's  a  sort  of  desperate  "  Mark  Tapleyism  "  abroad, 
as  we  consider  the  last  bar  of  soap  and  the  last  packet 
of  candles,  and  the  who  knows  how  many  months 
before  our  orders  are  filled.  These  personal  matters  are 
only  things  to  laugh  about ;  it  is  the  throwing  back  of 
our  work  which  hurts  us  all.  Our  forward  plans  have 
had  a  most  emphatic  check,  for  it  will  be  impossible  to 
occupy  a  new  post  while  the  base  itself  is  in  difficulties. 
It  seems  very  strange  that  just  as  the  men  are  coming 
up  country  the  door  should  be  barred  in  this  way.  We 
don't  understand  it ;  but  it's  all  right  nevertheless. 

'  We  had  a  prosperous  journey  in  the  "  Peace,"  I  am 
happy  to  say.  Not  the  slightest  difficulty  anywhere. 
At  the  place  where  they  sent  out  400  armed  men  to 
attack  us  last  time,  we  went  ashore,  and  got  some  of 
the  people  to  help  us  cut  wood  for  the  steamer.  God's 
blessing  has  been  very  manifestly  upon  us. 

*  I  was  very,  very  glad  to  get  the  kind  tokens  sent 


232  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

by  my  Birmingham  friends.  By  a  mere  accident  they 
escaped  the  fire.  The  chronometer  is  one  which  would 
have  delighted  Livingstone.  It  would  have  saved  him 
no  end  of  trouble  in  taking  observations.  It  is  exactly 
what  is  wanted  for  astronomical  observing.  One  can 
do  single-handed  now,  and  yet  run  no  risk  of  missing 
the  observation.  I've  lost  several  good  observations 
for  lack  of  a  skilled  helper  at  the  chronometer,  for  even 
taking  the  time  needs  experience.' 

On  July  26  Grenfell  wrote  to  Mr.  Baynes  from  the 
new  station,  Kinshasa,  Stanley  Pool,  describing  some 
of  the  incidents  of  his  long  voyage.  I  quote  one  sig- 
nificant passage. 

'  When  on  our  previous  visit  to  the  Falls  Station  we 
found  the  place  dominated  by  the  Arabs,  and  the  State 
establishment  only  existing  by  their  sufferance.  The 
natives,  recognizing  the  Arabs  to  be  the  stronger,  were, 
of  course,  loyal  to  them,  and  disloyal  to  the  State ;  but 
just  as  the  strong  measures  resorted  to  by  the  authorities 
on  the  river  have  resulted  in  the  peaceful  attitude  of  the 
people,  so  the  show  of  force  and  of  independence  at 
the  Falls  has  secured  the  allegiance  of  many  of  the 
disaffected. 

'  The  Arabs  themselves  can  scarcely  be  afraid  of  the 
force  which  might  be  opposed  to  them,  but  they  are 
evidently  restrained  from  dealing  in  the  same  high- 
handed manner  as  before — we  suppose,  by  diplomatic 
action  at  Zanzibar.  At  any  rate,  the  chief  of  the 
Stanley  Falls  Station  is  able  to  assert  his  position,  and 
so  far  has  managed  to  maintain  it,  though  when  we  left 
matters  were  becoming  rather  critical. 

'  It  appears  that,  a  short  time  before  our  arrival,  a 
slave  woman  took   refuge  in  the  State  camp,  and  the 


Mp.  Deane  and  the  Arabs    233 

Arabs,  finding  out  her  retreat,  applied  to  Mr.  Deane  (an 
Englishman),  who  is  chief  of  the  station,  with  the  natural 
result  that  he  refused  to  send  her  back. 

*A  few  days  later,  however,  the  Arabs  caught  her, 
flogged  her  severely,  and  kept  her  prisoner.  An  oppor- 
tunity for  escape  occurring,  she  immediately  fled  to  the 
camp  once  more,  and  during  the  time  we  were  at  the 
Falls,  Bwana  Sige,  Tippoo  Tib's  deputy,  came  across, 
and  made  formal  application  for  her.  At  this  juncture 
Mr.  Deane  asked  us  missionaries  to  be  present  as 
witnesses  at  the  palaver,  and  on  our  arrival  proceeded 
to  explain  to  Bwana  Sige  that  he  had  no  wish  to  act  in 
any  unfriendly  way  towards  the  Arabs,  but  that  the 
woman  must  decide  for  herself ;  if  she  wished  to  return, 
the  way  was  quite  open,  but  that  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  hand  her  over.  As  an  officer  of  the  State  he 
could  not,  and  as  an  Englishman  he  would  not,  be  party 
to  compelling  the  woman  to  return  to  her  masters 
against  her  will. 

*  He,  at  the  same  time,  expressed  his  readiness  to 
call  her,  that  she  might  be  heard ;  but  this  Bwana  Sige 
would  not  agree  to,  as  he  well  knew  the  woman  feared, 
as  she  had  every  reason  to  do,  for  her  life,  did  she  but 
once  fall  into  Arab  hands.  Bwana  Sige  proceeded  to 
inquire  whether  Mr.  Deane  had  well  considered  what  he 
said,  and  whether  he  could  take  care  of  his  head.  Mr. 
Deane  replied  that  he  had  considered  the  matter  very 
thoroughly,  and  that  he  thought  he  could  "  take  care 
of  his  head  " — at  any  rate,  he  would  try.  Bwana  Sige, 
finding  that  he  could  not  arrange  the  matter  to  his 
satisfaction,  began  to  lose  his  temper,  and  after  awhile 
left  in  high  dudgeon. 

*  I  may  say  that,  if  the  worst  came  to  the  worst,  the 
chief  of  Stanley  Falls  Station  and  his  forty  or  fifty  men 


234  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

would  "  give  a  good  account  of  themselves."  Mr.  Deane, 
having  seen  a  lot  of  hard  service  in  India,  has  had  to 
"  take  care  of  his  head  "  a  good  many  times,  A  year 
ago,  in  an  affair  with  the  natives,  he  was  surprised  during 
a  heavy  storm  at  night,  and  was  speared  right  through 
the  thigh  (a  wound  that  very  nearly  cost  him  his  life) ; 
but  he  did  not  lose  nerve,  for,  drawing  the  spear  out  of 
the  wound,  he  fought  with  that,  as  he  could  reach  no 
other  weapon  without  irretrievably  exposing  himself  to 
his  assailants.  I  am  afraid,  however,  if  it  came  to  a 
rupture  with  the  Arabs,  that  his  bravery  would  not  save 
him — even  Gordon  was  overcome  by  numbers.' 

Among  other  letters  awaiting  Grenfell  upon  his 
return  to  Stanley  Pool  was  one  from  Mr.  Robert 
Arthington,  dated,  Leeds,  England,  March  9,  1886. 
The  opening  is  a  quaint,  solemn,  and  really  eloquent 
acknowledgment  of  God's  goodness  in  aiding  Grenfell  in 
work  so  important  to  His  Kingdom.  The  writer  goes 
on  to  beg  that  Grenfell  will  disregard  his  suggestions, 
unless  they  are  endorsed  by  his  own  judgment,  and 
continues  :  '  I  want  to  know  the  exact  point  on  the  upper 
waters,  say  of  the  Mubangi,  by  latitude  and  longitude, 
where  it  would  be  most  helpful  or  promising  to  pass  to 
the  highest  navigable  point  on  the  Shari  River  which 
flows  into  Lake  Tchad.  I  want  to  know  the  nearest 
point — to  be  reached  by  available  waterway  of  any  kind, 
on,  or  from,  the  Congo  River,  between,  say  the  Aruwimi 
and  the  first  of  the  Stanley  Falls — to  either  the  Albert 
Nyanza,  or  to  the  Muta  Nzige  (to  the  actual  Lakes),  or 
to  a  navigable  point  by  latitude  and  longitude  on  some 
river  flowing  east  into  either  the  Albert  Nyanza  or  the 
Muta  Nzige — the  lakes  above  referred  to.' 

Mr.  Arthington  is  also  concerned  about  the  possibility 


Going"  into  Dock  235 

of  passing  from  the  Congo,  via  the  Kasai,  or  some  other 
affluent,  to  the  Zambesi. 

In  a  grateful  and  sympathetic  reply  Grenfell  laments 
that  at  present  his  physical  condition  compels  him  to 
think  of  a  period  of  rest.  He  feels  that  it  is  '  folly  for 
mortals  as  well  as  ships  to  carry  on  till  they  can  hold 
together  no  longer,  instead  of  going  into  dock  from  time 
to  time.'  The  last  three  and  a  half  years  have  meant 
strain  for  him,  and  when  he  has  completed  four  years  he 
will  have  to  visit  England.  This  may  permit  him  to  see 
Mr.  Arthington. 

^  '  In  the  meantime,  however,'  he  says,  '  I  will  reply 
briefly  to  your  three  questions,  only  regretting  that  as 
yet  time  and  opportunity  have  not  served  for  the  "Peace" 
to  cover  all  the  available  ground,  and  that  I  am  there- 
fore unable  to  speak  definitely  as  to  possibilities  still 
before  us. 

*  1st.  Up  the  Mubangi  the  farthest  point  reached  by 
the  "  Peace  "  was  4°  30'  North  latitude,  and  19°  25'  East 
longitude,  distant  from  Shari  Valley  about  three  degrees. 
River  still  open  when  we  turned  back. 

'2nd.  Farthest  point  up  the  Kasai  f  22'  South 
latitude  and  20°  40'  East  longitude.  Distant  from  the 
Garanganje  country,  or  Lake  Dibolo,  about  six  degrees. 

'  3rd.  Nearest  point  to  the  lakes  yet  attained  by  the 
"  Peace,"  is  Stanley  Falls,  30'  North  latitude  and  about 
2$°  East  longitude. 

'  Although  the  Mubangi  was  still  an  open  waterway 
where  we  left  it,  yet  I  think  it  will  scarcely  approach  the 
Shari  valley  more  closely  than  at  the  point  where  we 
found  the  course  strike  suddenly  away  eastwards,  some 
dozen  miles  or  so  below  our  turning-point. 

'  I  do  not  think  that  any  of  the  as  yet  unvisited  afflu- 
ents of  the  Kasai  will  furnish  us  with  a  nearer  approach 


236  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

to  the  Zambesi  Valley  than  the  point  we  have  already 
attained,  distant,  I  take  it,  some  400  miles  from  Arnot's 
proposed  destination.  .  .  . 

'  When  I  look  back,  and  see  the  wondrous  way  by 
which  the  Lord  has  brought  me,  and  consider  how  He 
has  honoured  me  with  a  place  in  the  forefront  among 
those  who  go  forth  on  the  Congo  to  obey  His  command 
to  preach  the  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom,  my  heart  is  very 
heavy,  that  I  am  able  to  do  so  little.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Stanley  Pool,  July  27. 

'  I  must  find  a  few  minutes  for  another  matter.  It 
concerns  the  enclosed  copy  of  letter  which  awaited  my 
return  from  up  river.  I  also  enclose  my  reply,  open,  for 
your  perusal,  and  will  ask  you  to  please  seal  and  send 
forward. 

'  You  will  observe  that  Mr.  Arthington  opens  up, 
suggestively,  a  very  wide  field  for  future  pioneering 
work,  with  which  I  am  personally  very  much  in  sympathy, 
but  which  I  cannot  venture  to  undertake  till  I  have  both 
received  further  orders  from  the  Committee,  and  in  some 
measure  recruited  my  health.  This  forward  work  is, 
perhaps,  a  matter  it  will  be  wise  to  keep  open  till  I  have 
an  opportunity  for  personally  conferring  with  yourself  or 
the  Committee.  I  came  down  river  this  last  time  quite 
expecting  that  my  "pioneering"  days  were  done,  and 
that  I  was  about  to  settle  down  into  the  quiet,  and  to 
me,  after  my  wanderings,  very  agreeable  routine  of 
station  life. 

*  I  was  thinking  that  with  the  amount  of  young  blood 
we  have  in  the  Mission  it  would  not  be  needful  that  I 
should  continue  to  fill  the  position  in  which  circumstances 
have  placed  me,  somewhat  prominently,  during  the  past 


*Only  not  a  Wreck'         237 

two  years.  However,  if  in  your  view  and  Mr.  Arthington's 
it  is  right  that  I  should  not  entirely  delegate  the 
"  forward "  work  to  other  hands,  I  shall  take  it  as  an 
indication  of  the  direction  in  which  my  duty  lies. 
Wherever  my  efforts  may  be  best  expended,  I  shall 
esteem  it  my  joy  to  serve,  and  whatever  may  present 
itself  as  the  "  next  thing,"  I  shall  attempt  in  the  name 
of  Him  upon  Whom  we  may  rely  for  all  needful  grace 
and  strength,' 

To  Mrs.  Hartland. 

Kinshasa,  August  8. 

*  We  have  just  received  Bentley's  telegram,  telling  us 
he  starts  with  four  new  men  by  the  September  mail. 
This  is  very  good  news,  but  I  fear  something  will  hinder 
him  ;  he  still  has  lots  of  printing  work  to  do. 

*  Thank  you  very  much  for  the  verses  you  send. 
"  Safe  Home  .  .  .  And  only  not  a  Wreck,"  I  like  amaz- 
ingly, and  I've  carefully  stowed  it  away  with  other  good 
things.  Thanks  also  for  the  many  items  of  interesting 
news  you  send.  Mr.  Hawker  is  your  new  pastor,  you 
say!  He  was  an  old  college  chum  of  mine.  So  was 
Baillie,  who  has  taken  Chown's  place.  We  were  all  three 
of  the  same  "  year."  ' 

To    THE    Rev.  A.   Billington,  of   the    American  Baptist 
Missionary  Union. 

August  9. 

'  Somehow,  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  I  find  in 
bringing  myself  to  consider  the  question  of  going  to 
England  lies  in  the  necessity  of  trusting  the  "  Peace  "  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  others.  In  my  own  mind,  nobody 
will  ever  do  for  her  as  I  have  done.  That's  egotism, 
no  doubt,  a  sort  of  paternal  weakness  for  the  craft,  for 
which,  perhaps,  I  may  be  excused.    You  can  understand 


238  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

something  about  the  feeling,  I  fancy,  if  others  cannot . 
I'm  hammering  away  at  our  new  dock  ;  have  got  a  third 
of  the  ways  down,  but  have  just  come  to  springs  in  the 
dock  bed,  which  have  been  giving  us  a  lot  of  trouble, 
and  which  threaten  us  with  many  more  difficulties  as  we 
push  ahead,' 

At  the  end  of  August  Grenfell  was  hopeful  that 
Lukolela  would  immediately  be  occupied,  and  the  up- 
river  work  fairly  commenced.  He  recognized  that  the 
loss  of  building  materials  and  stores  by  fire  would 
involve  increased  hardship  at  the  start,  but  he  felt  that 
that  must  not  be  allowed  to  hinder.  In  the  event,  the 
forward  move  was  again  delayed  by  illness,  and  it  was 
not  until  September  30  that  the  "  Peace "  steamed  up 
river,  to  locate  Richards  and  Davies  at  Lukolela,  and 
stand  by  for  a  month,  while  Grenfell  and  his  crew  helped 
them  to  put  up  their  first  houses.  Lake  Leopold  was 
visited  en  rotcte,  but  the  main  purpose  of  the  voyage 
was  not  fulfilled.  Davies  became  seriously  ill  on  the 
journey,  and  was  brought  back  in  a  grave  condition 
to  Stanley  Pool.  Once  more  sad  news  awaited  Grenfell 
upon  his  return.  During  his  absence,  his  baby  boy, 
two  months  old,  had  passed  away,  and  the  loss  was 
keenly  felt. 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Stanley  Pool,  October  23. 

'  You  will  be  grieved  to  learn  that  the  Arabs  have 
compassed  the  ousting  of  the  State  from  the  Falls.  The 
strained  relationships  of  which  I  have  already  informed 
you  came  to  a  crisis,  and  the  station  was  invested  by 
some  eight  hundred  men.  Mr.  Deane  and  his  thirty  or 
forty  soldiers  fought  till  all  their  cartridges  were  done, 
then  blew  up  the  station,  threw  their  arms  in  the  river, 


Lukolela  Founded  239 

and  escaped  at  midnight.  After  the  hardships  of  a 
three  days'  battle  Mr.  Deane  spent  a  month  in  the 
forest,  and  has  come  down  river,  a  mere  wreck  of  his 
former  self.  His  comrade.  Lieutenant  Dubois,  was 
drowned,  and  nineteen  of  his  men  are  missing.  Captain 
Coquilhat,  who  rescued  Mr.  Deane  in  the  small  steamer 
'A.I. A.,'  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  Arabs,  and  got 
wounded  in  the  arm.     He  goes  home  by  this  mail.' 

'November  17.  The  "Peace"  set  out  for  Lukolela 
once  more,  on  the  28th  ultimo,  but  on  reaching  Kimpoko 
(Bishop  Taylor's  station,  at  the  other  end  of  the  Pool), 
our  brethren  found  Mr.  Shoreland  so  ill  that  it  was  deter- 
mined to  return  to  Leopoldville,  that  the  sick  man  might 
be  taken  to  the  doctor.  On  the  ist  instant  the  "  Peace  " 
started  up  river  once  more,  and  the  latest  news  I  have  is 
dated  the  3rd,  just  as  she  was  leaving  Kimpoko,  the 
crew  hungry  and  discontented,  and  no  food  on  board. 
The  steamer  towed  the  station  canoe  up  to  Kimpoko, 
that  it  might  return  with  supplies  for  us  ;  but  we  were 
greatly  disappointed  by  the  return  of  the  empty  canoe, 
and  by  the  information  that  the  steamer  had  not  been 
able  to  supply  its  own  wants.  Mr.  Shoreland,  I  am  glad 
to  learn  from  the  doctor  at  Leopoldville,  is  much  better, 
being  hopeful  of  returning  to  Kimpoko  this  week.' 

This  time  success  was  recorded,  and  the  station  at 
Lukolela  was  founded  on  November  13  by  Darby  and 
Biggs,  Charters  having  command  of  the  "  Peace."  But 
in  December  Grenfell  started  upon  another  voyage,  of 
which  some  account  is  given  in  the  following  letter  : — 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Stanley  Pool,  January  4,  1887. 

'  It  is  not  every  time  that  the  "  Peace,"  on  returning 
from  a  voyage,  finds  good  news   awaiting   her.      This 


240  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

time,  however,  after  journeying  up  the  Kwango  as  far  as 
it  was  navigable,  our  hearts  have  been  gladdened  by 
tidings  of  the  completion  of  the  Stanley  Pool  Fire  Fund. 
It  is  barely  six  months  since  the  catastrophe,  yet  in  that 
time  the  news  has  travelled  to  England,  the  appeal  has 
been  made  and  responded  to,  and  now  we  have  tidings 
that  the  loss  is  entirely  covered  by  special  contributions ! 

'  My  brethren  and  myself  feel  this  to  be  the  occasion 
for  a  letter  of  thanks  to  those  churches  and  friends  who 
have  come  forward  so  nobly  and  lifted  off  our  hearts  the 
shadow  of  the  great  calamity  which  overtook  us  last 
Midsummer  Day.  We  regard  it  as  a  magnificent  vote 
of  confidence  ;  and  I  feel  sure  that  this  very  emphatic 
evidence  of  sympathy  will  be  followed  by  such  prayers 
as  are  no  small  factor  in  our  being  sustained.  Our 
hearts  are  gladdened,  and  we  give  hearty  thanks  because 
of  you.     Our  joy  is  full. 

'This  last  journey  of  ours  was  undertaken  (Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bentley,  Mr.  Charters,  Mr.  Darby,  Dr.  Mense,  of 
the  Congo  Free  State,  and  myself,  were  the  party  on 
board)  in  the  hope  that  we  should  find  the  Kwango 
navigable  as  far  south  as  the  latitude  of  San  Salvador. 
We  felt  that  the  probabilities  were  against  us,  but  that 
it  was  important,  before  definitely  adopting  any  plan  of 
campaign,  that  we  should  have  all  the  details  ;  and  this 
last  river,  the  one  nearest  to  us,  strange  to  say,  not 
having  been  ascended  to  its  ultimate  point,  we  deter- 
mined to  make  the  journey,  and  see  what  its  bearing 
might  be  on  the  problem  of  overland  communication. 
If  it  transpired  that  the  waterway  was  clear  to  the 
latitude  of  San  Salvador,  it  would  not  be  much  farther 
to  the  upper  river  system,  via  that  place,  than  the 
present  route  to  Stanley  Pool,  and  the  advantage  of 
plenty  of  carriers   would  be  secured,  a  matter  of  very 


MISSION   CANOE   ON   THE   UPPER  CONGO. 
Missionary  Visiting  an  Out-station. 
Photo  :  Rev.  Win.  Forfeitt. 


LETTING    DOWN    FISHIXG-NET,    BOPOTO. 
Photo:  Rev.  Win.  Forfeitt, 


Terrible  Whistles  241 

great  importance,  when  we  consider  the  straits  we  are 
in  because  of  the  difficulty  in  getting  our  loads  carried 
through  to  Arthington. 

'In  1880,  Major  von  Mechow  put  an  iron  boat  on 
the  Kwango  at  a  point  a  hundred  miles  south  of  the 
latitude  of  San  Salvador,  and  travelled  northward  for 
nearly  two  hundred  miles  to  the  Kingunji  Rapids,  which 
were  described  as  possibly  passable  at  high  water.  We 
chose  the  time  of  high  water,  and  proceeded  southward 
from  the  confluence  with  the  Kasai  for  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  then  found  our  way  barred 
by  the  same  obstacle  which  Von  Mechow  encountered 
when  he  approached  it  from  the  other  side  six  years  ago. 
It  is  greatly  to  be  deplored  that  a  miserable  fall,  only 
about  as  high  as  a  table,  should  bar  the  way  nearly  in 
the  middle  of  a  four  hundred  mile  stretch  of  waterway. 
Native  canoes  are  hauled  past,  and  boats  might  be,  but 
it  was  too  much  for  the  "  Peace,"  and  so  we  had  to 
return. 

•  In  the  lower  parts  of  the  Kwango  we  had  some 
difficulty  in  communicating  with  the  people  on  account 
of  their  language  ;  but  as  we  got  farther  south,  Mr. 
Bentley  and  Nlemvo  found  they  were  among  people 
with  whom  they  could  speak  freely,  and  to  whom  they 
could  explain  something  of  the  work  missionaries  came 
to  do. 

'  People  were  friendly  everywhere,  excepting  at  one 
place.  Here  one  morning  four  men  came  out  with  guns 
to  bar  our  way,  as  they  threatened  they  would  do  the 
previous  evening ;  but  when  we  blew  our  terrible  pair  of 
steam  whistles,  and  made  them  shriek  their  loudest  and 
most  discordant  notes,  the  way  the  warlike  expedition 
collapsed,  and  the  warriors  helped  their  paddlers  pull  for 
the  shore,  was  so  comical  that  we  could  not  forbear  a 

R 


242  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

hearty  laugh  ;  and  as  we  passed  the  abandoned  craft  on 
the  beach  from  which  it  had  so  vauntingly  set  forth  a 
few  minutes  before,  I  am  sorry  to  say  our  crew  in- 
dulged in  rude  chaff  to  the  best  of  their  ability  (they 
have  great  capacity  in  that  direction)  for  the  benefit 
of  the  runaways,  who  could  not  have  been  out  of 
earshot. 

*  As  I  purpose  starting  down  country,  "  homeward 
bound,"  to-morrow,  I  will  not  write  more,  but  will  wait 
the  opportunity  to  tell  you  of  the  wonderful  opening  up 
of  the  country  and  of  the  glorious  possibilities  before  us. 
May  God  give  us  all  grace  and  strength  for  the  work ! 
A  grander  work  never  was  set  before  the  Christian 
Church.' 

To  Mr.  Lewis. 

S.S. '  Nubia,'  near  Gaboon,  February  14. 
'  This  last  letter  of  yours  I  found  awaiting  me  on  my 
return  to  the  Pool  on  January  2,  and  was  moved  by  your 
appeals  to  the  memories  of  old  times  to  sit  down  at  once 
and  respond,  as  was  due.  However,  it  was  not  possible, 
for  we  had  returned  to  find  the  station  dragging  along 
on  "  short  commons,"  and  it  became  necessary  to  clear 
out  at  once,  to  avoid  an  absolute  famine.  So,  starting 
some  of  our  things  off  the  following  day,  we  ourselves 
cleared  out  on  the  5th,  homeward  bound.  The  interval 
was  too  short  to  allow  of  my  getting  through  the  business 
that  was  called  for  in  turning  the  station  over  to  Bentley. 
However,  we  did  what  we  could  (leaving  letters,  as  you 
may  imagine,  in  the  background),  and  managed  to  put 
things  a  bit  ship-shape,  and  made  arrangements  for  the 
steamer  to  go  up  river  again,  as  we  went  down  country, 
so  as  to  relieve  the  pressure  for  food  which  obtained  at 
Arthington  Station. 


A  Period  of  Rest  243 

'  There  have  been  two  successive  failures  in  the  matter 
of  rainfall,  and  the  consequence  is  that  food  is  very  scarce. 
As  yet  we  have  suffered  but  very  slightly,  and  only  few 
meal-times  have  passed  without  something  being  given 
out  to  our  children  and  workpeople.  I  am  afraid,  how- 
ever, that  the  worst  of  the  pinch  is  in  the  future.  The 
present  season  being  one  of  plentiful  rain,  and  of  great 
promise  ;  we  have  only  to  hold  out  a  little  longer,  and 
the  pinch  will  have  passed.  Six  months  more,  and 
we  shall  have  something  to  go  on  with,  though  it 
takes  a  year  or  a  year  and  a  half,  or  even  more,  for 
the  cassada  crops,  which  are  the  mainstay,  to  come  to 
maturity.' 

To  Mr.  Bavnes. 

Same  date. 
*  I  am  already  better  for  being  free  of  the  responsi- 
bilities of  my  recent  position,  the  more  acute  symptoms 
being  much  modified,  and  I  trust  that  a  period  of  rest 
in  the  "old  country"  will  enable  me,  if  God  wills,  to 
resume  my  work  with  renewed  strength,  and  with  tenfold 
increased  devotion.' 

The  s.s.  *  Nubia '  having  reached  Liverpool,  Grenfell 
spent  most  of  his  shortened  furlough  in  London,  and 
letters  available  give  one  or  two  suggestive  glimpses  of 
time  in  going  and  coming. 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

Bury,  March  30. 

'We  shall  be  passing  near  to  Birmingham  on  our 
way  to  London  to-morrow.  If  it  would  be  suitable  to 
you,  it  would  be  a  great  pleasure  for  us  to  take  you 
en  route,  and  stay  the  night.  We  have  with  us  a  little 
black  boy  and  a  girl,  in  addition  to  our  three  selves. 


244  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

These  two  are  nine  or  ten  years  old,  and  need  scarcely 
any  consideration.  On  board  steamer  they  rolled  them- 
selves up  in  their  blankets  (which  they  carry  with  them), 
and  "  turned  in  "  on  the  deck  :  here  they  lie  on  the  floor. 
If  we  make  a  bit  of  fuss  with  them,  we  shall  have  trouble 
to  get  them  down  to  the  old  status  when  we  return.  .  .  . 
I  go  on  to  Liverpool  to  see  about  a  boat  in  an  hour's 
time.     Came  up  from  London  yesterday.' 

To  Mrs.  Harland. 

Shepherd's  Bush,  April  14. 
'  You  will  be  very  sorry  to  hear  that  I  found  our  poor 
little  Peg,  when  I  went  down  to  Cornwall  on  Wednesday 
last,  suffering  from  a  wound  which  she  had  inflicted  with 
a  pair  of  scissors  on  her  right  eye,  and  which  Dr.  Tweedy 
says  will  involve  a  serious  operation.  There  will  be  a  con- 
sultation next  week,  and  we  shall  know  more  about  it. 
We  are  in  great  trouble.  Poor  Mamma  is  quite  dis- 
consolate, and  says  she  does  not  care  to  go  anywhere 
while  this  cloud  hangs  so  heavily.  You  will  therefore 
please  excuse  us.  We  shall  be  sure  to  make  going  to 
see  you  one  of  our  first  visits.  I  am  far  from  well,  and 
am  trying  to  take  care  of  myself  indoors.' 

The  operation  was  performed,  and  Pattie  lost  an  eye. 
Thus,  by  a  curious  and  sad  coincidence,  the  child  suffered 
precisely  the  same  misfortune  as  her  father  had  sustained 
in  his  youth. 

Toward  the  end  of  June  Grenfell  is  still  in  Shepherd's 
Bush,  delaying  his  departure  from  London  that  he  may 
see  the  Jubilee  procession.  Shortly  after,  he  goes  to 
Belgium,  to  further  Mission  interests,  and  to  do  some 
geographical  work. 


Received  by  the  King*       245 


To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Chateau  Gingalom,  Gingalom,  Belgium,  July  ii. 
*  On  Saturday  I  was  received  by  the  King  at  his 
palace,  and  had  an  interview  of  more  than  an  hour's 
duration.  He  was  very  gracious,  and  desired  that  I 
should  convey  to  you  the  assurance  of  his  very  kind 
regard.  Strangely  enough,  he  expressed  great  interest 
in  those  portions  of  his  State  to  which  Mr.  Arthington 
seems  specially  drawn,  the  Upper  Mubangi  and  the 
district  in  which  Arnot  has  settled.  He  went  so  far  as 
to  "  hope  "  that  our  Society  (he  said  "  you  ")  would  be 
able  to  push  on  in  these  directions.  He  seems  bent  on 
carrying  the  railway  through,  even  though  at  his  own 
expense,  and  speaks  in  the  most  positive  way  of  its 
ultimate  accomplishment.  He  realizes  the  difficulties  of 
the  position  very  keenly,  especially  that  of  labour.' 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

Brussels,  July  17. 

'  I  have  been  busy  during  the  past  week  collating 
data  and  furnishing  details  for  a  map  of  the  Pool,  which 
the  executive  here  are  preparing  for  the  basis  of  negotia- 
tions with  France,  respecting  the  delimitation  of  the 
French  frontier  on  the  Pool. 

'  I  have  had  lots  of  flattering  notices  by  the  press — and 
invitations  ad  lib.  I  want  to  be  quiet.  Should  have  left 
last  week  but  for  the  map  work.' 

August  9,  1887,  was  a  memorable  day  in  Grenfell's 
life.  He  called  at  the  Mission  House,  and  met  the  Rev. 
J.  H.  Weeks,  who  had  just  returned  from  the  Congo. 
Mr.  Weeks,  whose  illness  had  caused  grave  anxiety,  was 
much  better,  but  he  was  the  bearer  of  heavy  tidings. 


246  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

Mr.  Baynes  was  away  for  his  holiday,  and  the  following 
three  telegrams,  despatched  by  Grenfell  in  quick  suc- 
cession, tell  their  own  story : — 

'Chancery  Lane  Office,  11.43  a.m.  To  A.  H. 
Baynes,  6,  Pearl  Street,  Saltburn.  Weeks  is  here,  very, 
very  much  better.  But  Thomas  Comber  died  at 
Mayumba,  homeward  bound,  via  German  mail,  end 
July.     Am  overwhelmed,  Grenfell.' 

'Cornhill  Office,  12.42  p.m.  To  Baynes,  Saltburn. 
Shall  I  come  down  at  once  .•'  Weeks  thinks  I  ought  to 
go  out  by  first  mail.     Grenfell,  19,  Furnival  Street' 

'  Chancery  Lane  Office,  1.34  p.m.  To  Baynes,  Salt- 
burn.     I  am  ready  to  go  by  "  Imbria,"  Grenfell.' 

On  the  same  day  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to  Mr. 
Baynes,  which  subsequently  appeared  in  the  Missionary 
Herald : — 


Baptist  Missionary  Society. 

19,  Furnival  Street,  London,  E.C.,  August  9,  1887. 

'  After  the  anxiety  consequent  upon  Mr.  Weeks' 
failure  to  arrive  as  expected  by  the  last  mail,  you  will 
be  very  glad  to  learn  that  he  has  safely  reached  London, 
and  that  he  is  very  much  better ;  but  though  you  are 
now  able  to  dispel  all  fear  on  his  account,  you  will  be 
overwhelmed  by  the  sad  tidings  he  brings. 

'  I  scarcely  know  how  to  write  it — my  heart  is,  indeed, 
very,  very  sore — for  one  of  the  heaviest  blows  that  could 
have  fallen  upon  our  Congo  Mission  has  just  come  down 
with  terribly  crushing  effect. 

*  The  enclosed  letter  from  Dr.  Small  (if  you  have 
already  perused  it)  will  have  told  you  of  the  dreadful 
condition  to  which  our  dear  brother  Comber  was  reduced 
when  he  was  put  on  board  the  German  mail  as  a  last 


Death  of  Comber  247 

resource — a  resource  which,  Mr.  Weeks  learned  on  his 
homeward  voyage,  proved  of  no  avail. 

'  It  appears  that  the  serious  symptoms  which  charac- 
terized the  illness  of  my  dear  colleague  were  in  no 
measure  reduced ;  indeed,  they  became  more  and  more 
acute,  and  before  the  German  mail  steamer  had 
journeyed  more  than  a  couple  of  hundred  miles  on  its 
homeward  voyage  our  brother  had  finished  all  his 
journeyings,  and  his  spirit  had  reached  the  great  home- 
land, and  entered  into  the  presence  of  the  Lord  and 
Master  whom  he  loved  so  dearly. 

'The  German  mail  is  due  next  week,  and  it  is 
expected  that  it  will  bring  the  history  of  the  case 
referred  to  by  Dr.  Small,  and  also  details  from  Mr. 
Scrivener.  In  the  meantime  we  must  be  content  with 
the  verbal  information  given  by  Mr.  Fuller,  of  Came- 
roons,  to  Mr.  Weeks,  who  arrived  at  that  place  a  few 
days  after  the  German  steamer  had  left  on  her  slow 
voyage  to  Hamburg.  From  this  information  it  appears 
that  our  brother  died  at  sea  at  the  close  of  June,  or  early 
in  July,  but  that  his  body  was  not  committed  to  the 
deep  ;  for  the  captain,  finding  it  was  possible  to  reach 
Mayumba  (a  little  more  than  200  miles  north  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Congo  River),  headed  for  that  place,  and 
furnished  an  opportunity  for  burial  there. 

'  This  news,  though  very  scant,  is  very  definite,  and 
it  is  altogether  too  well|  confirmed  to  allow  of  our 
retaining  any  hope  that  it  might  be  untrue ;  and  so  with 
sad  heart  we  must  resign  ourselves  to  waiting  for  the 
sorrowful  details. 

'  Not  only  does  this  blow  fall  on  us,  who  have  lost 
a  loving-hearted  friend  and  devoted  fellow-worker,  who 
was  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  himself,  and  whose  charity 
never   failed,    but    you   will    remember,   as    I    do,   the 


248  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

heaviness  and  bitterness  that  this  stroke  will  bring  to 
the  hearts  of  dear  relatives  and  a  wide  circle  of  very 
affectionate  friends.  I  know  you  will  join  with  me  in 
praying  that  the  God  of  all  consolation,  the  great 
Comforter,  will  sustain  sorrow-stricken  hearts. 

'You  know,  my  dear  Mr.  Baynes,  the  especially 
close  bonds  of  sympathy  which  bound  my  dear  col- 
league, Tom  Comber,  to  myself,  and  how  intimately 
we  have  been  associated  during  the  past  ten  years  ;  you 
know,  too,  many  of  the  difficulties  we  have  faced,  and 
many  of  the  sorrows  we  have  borne  together,  and  will, 
I  am  confident,  sympathize  very  sincerely  and  tenderly 
with  me,  and  with  those  who  mourn  the  loss  of  one  of 
the  greatest  and  dearest  of  friends.' 

In  a  second  letter,  still  of  the  same  date,  Grenfell 
reports  an  interview  with  Thomas  Comber's  father,  in 
which  he  and  Mr.  Weeks  had  communicated  the  heart- 
breaking news,  and  adds :  '  I  have  already  commenced 
to  pack  my  things.' 

A  week  later,  writing  to  Mr.  Baynes,  he  says — 

*  I  thank  you  very  sincerely  for  your  very  kind  letter 

of  yesterday,  and   also   for   having  enclosed   Sir  

's    note   respecting    my  going    out,      I    have   been 

thinking  the  matter  over  most  carefully  for  the  past  six 
hours,  and  I  can't  bring  myself  to  the  idea  that  I  shall 
be  doing  the  right  thing  by  staying  a  month — the  need 
seems  imperative,  and  the  more  imperative  the  more  I 
think  of  it.  My  wife  (whose  judgment  in  matters  con- 
cerning our  Mission  I  know  to  be  worthy  of  considera- 
tion), though  she  regrets  very  much  having  to  leave 
England  so  early,  feels  with  me  that  we  are  called  back 
to  the  Congo  without  delay. 

'  I  know  that  going  out  means  lots  of  hard  work  and 


Another  Spell  of  Work      249 

anxiety,  but  I  feel  that  it  will  be  harder  work,  and  that 
I  shall  be  more  anxious,  if  I  stay  at  home.  I  do  not 
doubt  that  my  physical  condition  is  quite  equal  to 
another  spell  of  work  on  the  Congo  (not  a  long  spell, 
perhaps),  and  you  may  rely  upon  my  good  sense  and 
my  instinct  of  self-preservation  for  protecting  the 
interests  of  the  Mission,  in  so  far  as  they  are  identical 
with  my  poor  life. 

'  The  waiting  for  a  month  of  course  would  be  very 
convenient  for  me.  It  would  give  me  so  much  more 
time  to  get  ready.  But  what  of  our  poor  fellows  on  the 
Congo,  who  will  be  glad  of  a  month's  help  from  me  ?  .  .  . 

'  I  forgot  to  give  you  my  address  during  the  coming 
few  days.  I  expect  to  leave  London  on  Thursday  even- 
ing, and  to  stay  till  Friday  evening  with  Dr.  Glover  at 
Westfield  Park,  Bristol.  Saturday  and  Sunday  I  hope 
to  be  with  my  mother,  Mrs.  Grenfell,  Ennis  Cottage, 
Sancreed,  nr.  Penzance.  Monday  I  propose  to  sleep  in 
Birmingham  (52,  Princess  Road,  Edgbaston)  and  to  go 
on  to  Liverpool  in  the  afternoon.  This  of  course  is  a 
"  programme  "  liable  to  variation.' 

The  letters  of  these  days  make  it  clear  that  Grenfell 
had  to  fight  for  permission  to  answer  the  call  for  imme- 
diate return,  which  the  clamant  needs  of  the  Mission 
made  articulate  to  his  own  soul.  There  arose  in  the 
minds  of  some  of  the  most  ardent  and  loyal  supporters 
of  the  Mission  a  conviction  that  his  furlough  ought  not 
to  be  shortened,  and  that  to  allow  him  to  return  to 
Congo  before  his  health  was  fully  re-established  would 
involve  the  taking  of  unwarrantable  risks.  This  convic- 
tion found  decided  expression  in  a  letter  from  Sir  

to  Mr.  Baynes.     The  spirit  of  the  letter  is  admir- 
able, and  the  writer  intimates  that  if  his  advice  is  not 


250  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

taken,  he  will  harbour  no  resentment,  and  pray  that  his 
forebodings  may  not  be  fulfilled.  But  the  burden  is  upon 
his  soul,  and  he  must  discharge  it. 

I  quote  the  following  sentences.  The  letter  is  dated 
August  13,  and  addressed  to  Mr.  Baynes  : — 

'What  I  felt  on  reading  your  decision  to  send  out 
Grenfell  at  once  was  that  you  must  be  acting  on  some 
information  not  accessible  to  me,  Grenfell's  impulse  to 
go  at  once  I  understand.  He  would  be  sure  to  be  ready 
to  leap  into  the  breach  ;  but  is  it  wise  to  let  him  ^  I 
doubt  it.  There  will  be  much  depression  among  the 
Churches  under  this  new  loss,  and  doubts  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  sacrificing  so  many  noble  young  lives  will 
be  raised.  Should  Grenfell  now  go  out,  before  his  full 
furlough  is  up,  and  should  he,  while  excited  and  anxious, 
and  still  enfeebled,  be  also  struck  down,  the  Congo 
Mission  would  receive  a  staggering  blow. 

*  Grenfell  is  and  has  been  the  first  man  there.  It  is 
he,  and  not  Comber,  who  has  fired  the  imagination  of 
our  young  people,  and  won  the  admiration  of  the  older. 
That  Comber  was  a  most  important  element  in  the 
Mission  is  clear  enough,  and  his  loss  fills  us  with  grief, 
but  he  was  of  more  ordinary  stuff  than  Grenfell.  Gren- 
fell is  one  of  a  generation,  as  a  Gospel  pioneer.  Do  let 
him  get  strong,  and  do  not  run  risks  with  his  life.' 

In  a  letter  dated  August  17,  Grenfell  explains  to 
Mr.  Baynes  that  his  absorption  in  the  main  matter  has 
caused  him  to  overlook  things  of  minor  importance,  and 
proceeds — 

*  I   feel  that  I  must  not  allow  Sir 's  very 

flattering  remarks  to  pass  without  my  telling  you  that 
I  think  he  has  done  Mr.  Comber's  memory  an  injustice 
in  ranking  his  influence  second  to  mine.  I  knew 
Comber's  sterling  worth,  and  the  wide-reaching  power 


Tribute  to  Comber  251 

of  the  sympathy  he  commanded  too  well  to  allow  for  one 
moment  that  the  glare  of  my  pioneering  was  more 
potent.  To  certain  minds  the  work  which  I  have  been 
privileged  to  do  appeals  more  strikingly  than  the  work 
of  my  dear  colleague ;  but  it  is  only  to  a  small  section 
of  the  constituents  of  our  Society  that  this  would  apply. 

'  I  thank  God  for  the  work  Comber  has  done. 
He  was  the  man  raised  up  for  the  work,  and  I  look 
round  very  anxiously  for  one  who  may  be  able  to  wear 
his  mantle.  He  seems  to  my  mind  to  have  had 
exceptional  ability  in  guiding  and  leading  others,  and 
I  very  much  fear  we  shall  very  badly  miss  his  faculty 
in  this  matter.  To  his  gentle  and  wise  dealings  the 
Committee  have  to  attribute  the  freedom  from  that 
"friction"  which  often  manifests  itself  in  enterprises 
such  as  ours,  and  I  pray  very  sincerely  that  a  spirit  of 
love  and  forbearance  may  be  granted  to  the  Congo 
brethren,  and  that  we  may  be  enabled  to  work  together 
in  such  harmony  as  should  characterize  our  dealings 
one  with  another.  .  .  . 

*  I  shall  call  at  the  Mission  House  on  Monday  evening, 
on  my  way  to  Liverpool.  I  can't  see  my  way  a  bit 
clearer  to  agree  to  stopping.' 

As  one  who  knew  personally  both  Comber  and 
Grenfell,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  latter's  disclaimer 
of  pre-eminence  was  according  to  truth.  God  set  these 
men  side  by  side.  They  were  both  great;  each  great 
enough  to  think  the  other  greater.  Their  gifts  were 
diverse  and  complementary,  but  they  understood,  revered, 
and  thanked  God  for  one  another. 

They  were  God's  greatest  gifts  to  the  Congo  Mission 
in  its  early  days.  But  '  the  one  was  taken  and  the  other 
left'  Comber  was  a  radiant  being,  compact  of  sunshine, 
enthusiasm,  power,  and  love.     He  had  the  heart  of  a 


252  Autumn,  1884,  to  Autumn,  1887 

little  child,  and  children  idolized  him.  He  could  hold 
them  spell-bound  while  he  discoursed  of  the  love  of 
Jesus,  and  when  play-time  came,  could  share  with  them 
the  ecstasies  of  a  madcap  frolic  of  his  own  devising. 
He  had  a  will  of  tempered  steel,  as  Stanley  discovered 
and  confessed.  His  sympathy  was  as  inexhaustible  as 
his  energy,  and  his  judgment  was  swift  and  sound. 
While  Grenfell  was  specializing  as  explorer,  Comber  was 
the  recognized  leader  of  the  Mission,  trusted  and  beloved 
by  all.  The  early  death  of  such  a  man  confirms  our 
Christian  faith  that  death  is  illusory,  and  not  real.  Such 
a  labourer,  who  entered  the  'vineyard'  so  early,  and 
wrought  with  such  zeal  while  the  sun  climbed  the  sky, 
could  not,  by  any  accident  of  mortality,  be  defrauded  of 
his  'penny.'  And  God  could  not  affront  the  soul  of 
'  Vianga  Vianga '  by  proffering  him  a  lesser  recompense 
than  '  the  wages  of  going  on,  and  not  to  die.' 

On  August  1 8  Grenfell  writes  a  brief  note  to 
Mr.  Baynes,  thanking  him  for  sympathy,  expressing 
intense  relief  in  that  he  is  permitted  to  go,  and  arranging 
to  meet  his  friend  and  chief  under  the  clock  at  Lime 
Street,  Liverpool. 

On  the  23rd  he  sailed,  with  his  wife  and  his  new 
colleagues,  Brown  and  Harrison,  not  in  the  yacht-like 
'  Nubia,'  which  he  had  hoped  would  be  their  ship,  but  in 
the  '  Landana,'  which  '  had  been  "  laid  up "  in  dock  for 
more  than  a  year,  and  was  fusty  enough  to  turn  the 
stomach  of  a  camel.'  But  the  '  fusty,  musty,  dirty,  tarry ' 
old  craft  was  thoroughly  rinsed  out  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay, 
and  would  thereafter  have  been  tolerable,  but  for  her 
wicked  trick  of  losing  time.  The  letter  from  which  I 
gather  these  descriptive  notes,  addressed  to  Mrs.  Hart- 
land,    is    perhaps    the    most    vituperative   of  Grenfell's 


*The  Dowdy  old  Craft'       253 

epistles.  He  cannot  get  done  with  abusing  *  the  dowdy 
old  craft.'  There  is  no  mystery  in  this,  when  we  note 
that  his  sea-sickness  was  severe. 

At  Cameroons  the  party  picked  up  John  Pinnock  and 
his  wife,  most  valuable  reinforcements,  and  early  in 
October  arrived  at  Underhill,  much  behind  time. 

'The  pressure  is  even  greater  than  was  anticipated 
when  we  decided  that  I  should  start  for  the  Congo,  and 
I  feel  more  and  more  that  I  did  the  right  thing  in  hurrying 
out.  I  have  already  had  a  good  look  round,  and  have 
determined  that  after  a  month  or  two,  spent  in  straight- 
ening up,  it  will  be  right  and  wise  for  me  to  go  up  to  the 
Pool ;  and  unless  I  get  a  telegram  from  you  I  purpose  to 
move  to  the  front  again.  The  brethren  are  unanimous 
in  asking  Bentley  to  give  his  attention  to  Kishi-Congo 
literature,  seeing  that  now  Comber  has  left  us  we  have 
no  one  else  who  is  able  to  undertake  the  work  of  trans- 
lation. Some  suggest  San  Salvador,  others  Underhill 
and  Wathen  ;  but  while  the  point  of  Bentley's  station 
is  still  unsettled  he  has  acceded  to  the  request,  and 
promised  to  remove  to  within  the  Congo  limits,  so  as 
to  secure  the  "  environment "  necessary  for  satisfactory 
translation  work.  This  will  leave  the  Pool  forward 
without  a  senior,  and  I  feel  I  am  called  thither  to  stop 
the  gap.  Davies  and  Percy  Comber  are  strongly 
attached  to  Wathen,  and  I  cannot  advise  their  transfer- 
ring themselves  to  the  new  circumstances  of  Arthington, 
and  losing  all  the  advantages  of  their  experience  among 
the  Congo  people,  and  their  knowledge  of  the  language. 

'  Brown  goes  up  to  the  Pool  at  once,  and  with  the 
help  of  one  or  other  of  the  brethren  will  hold  on  till  I 
come — possibly  with  Harrison — about  the  end  of  the 
year. 


CHAPTl'R    XII 

FORWARD   movi:m1':nts   on  the 

UPPHR    RIVER 

Dentil  o(  Wliitlc-y  und  nitigs  A  llt)tllt*  tif  AiiiiiioiiiH  l-ort 
ClittMtinurt  (>ii  the  Kwilii  Kivri  Aiiivctl  at  Staiilry  I'ool  Hratli 
of  ltrl(^iuii  OfTUf  rti  Nrw  StatioiiH  foiiiird  llraltli  I'iri ttiidoii:! 
'Itic  'Down  Cirailc'  Mici^ioii  Wink  at  Ailliiii^loii  Mr. 
Wiltiiot  llioi>kr  I'lir  (^)iirHtu»ii  ot  Ailvrtiu*'  oi  UVtirat  Drtitli 
uf  KUIiai(t:i  A  'lorimdo  lirriifrU'ri  UrttrmI  to  toiiir  lloiiir 
At  Itolobo  Dratli  ot  SUilc  l-iittt  lluptli^iiiitil  Srivit r  nt  Ltolobu 
Dnuth  ot  Jack  DIkiilii  Durliy'rt  Woik  Hiii  Dog  Ten 
('oiiiiiittiuliiiriit.'i  tiuiiMlatrd  ll|)«>to  Dvci  Koity  Aiiutlier 
C'hriHtiuua  Aiiotlin  Little  VJm  TiaiiHliitioii  of  St.  Maik'n 
GoitprI  Adviiiita)^r!S  of  llpoto  Mi.  Lawmiii  ['"ortcit I'm  Letter — 
SlAve-killiti(>'     Mi.  Ailliiiii^toirtt  Detiiie  to  go  I''orwnul. 

IN  irtiiiiiiii!;  U)  AlVicu  under  coiulitioiis  iii(li<atc-(l  in 
the  li)irj'()iiij»"  ('haptt-r,  GicMtffll  was  well  aw.iic-  that 
tl\«'  advance  upon  tin-  uppi*r  river,  so  dein'  and  so  nii;enl 
to  his  St)ul,  nnist  needs  he  retaiileil  hy  tlic  iinvst iniahU* 
loss  to  the  Mission  involved  in  C'oniher's  de.ith.  While 
lie  was  inaUini';  his  voyaj.je  airtid  petty  discoinloits  which 
provoked  his  humorous  complaints,  new.s  was  passing 
him  upon  the  seu  which  caused  ^^rcat  heaviness  of  heart 
in  I'.nijland,  and  added  immensely  to  his  cares  and  to  the 
dillicnllies  whiih  must  he  'aninonnted  helore  the  new 
sttttious,  ever  present  to  his  dieains.K.nM  Ik-  inaleriulizcd 
U[)on  the  bnitks  of  the  ('on|;o. 

Dn  arrivinf'  at  Hanana  he  learnt  with  an\a/einent  and 
great  gricfth.it  two  nioie  ol    the  hnthren  hail  laiil  iliiwil 


256  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

the  weapons  of  their  warfare  on  earth,  answering  their 
Commander's  mysterious  call  to  the  Unseen.  At  Banana 
he  tried  to  hope  that  the  news  was  mistaken  ;  but  a  day 
or  two  later,  at  Underhill,  he  learned  beyond  all  doubt 
that  Whitley  had  died  at  Lukungu,  on  August  3,  and 
that  Biggs  had  died  at  Stanley  Pool,  three  weeks  later, 
after  seven  days'  fever.  But  his  grief  was  mingled  with 
joy,  as  he  found  that  the  soldierly  temper  of  his  comrades 
remained  unshaken  by  these  new  losses,  and  he  wrote 
home  an  instant  and  confident  appeal  for  men  to  fill 
the  gaps. 

It  was  hoped,  when  Grenfell  was  permitted  to  return 
before  the  conclusion  of  his  furlough,  that  his  stay  in 
Africa  would  be  brief :  that  after  spending  a  few  months 
in  putting  things  in  order,  he  would  come  home  again, 
and  take  his  full  share  of  rest.  But  three  years  elapsed 
before  he  picked  up  the  threads  of  his  broken  furlough — 
three  years  crammed  with  strenuous  service.  Even  then 
he  came  hurriedly  and  without  premeditation,  driven  by 
exigencies  which  will  be  described  at  length  in  the  next 
chapter. 

When  he  did  return  he  was  able  to  record  the 
establishment  of  three  new  stations,  at  one  of  which  he 
had  made  a  new  home  for  himself,  and  a  new  depot  for 
the  steamer.  During  the  greater  part  of  this  period  the 
'  Peace '  was  solely  in  his  charge,  and  a  large  proportion 
of  his  time  was  spent  in  going  and  coming.  The  quiet 
station  work  for  which  his  soul  longed  was  continually 
postponed,  and  though  he  had  made  his  home  at  Bolobo, 
which  he  came  to  love  with  intense  affection,  he  was  too 
often  '  not  at  home.' 

At  the  end  of  November,  1888,  he  concludes  a  letter 
to  Miss  Hawkes  as  follows :  •  I  expect  we  shall  start  up 
river  again  in  the  *'  Peace  "  on  December  15,  bound  for 


VIEW   IN    ONE   OF  THK    BOI.OBO   TOWNS. 
yVici/o  ;  C.  Gix-nfc'll. 


CHOPO    FALLS.   LINDI   RIVKR. 
Photo:  Rev.  Win.  Forfcitt. 


The  Passion  for  Souls        257 

Bangala.  This  will  be  the  longest  voyage  attempted 
since  our  return.  .  .  .  This,  you  will  say,  is  like  all  your 
letters,  full  of  going  and  coming,  and  rushing  here  and 
there,  and  little  or  nothing  about  Mission  work.  Well, 
somebody  must  do  the  drudgery,  or  we  should  break  in 
upon  the  regularity  of  the  work  here  at  Nshasha  or  at 
Lukolela,  at  both  of  which  places  organized  and  regular 
Mission  work  is  being  done.  I  hope  soon  to  be  able  to  tell 
you  of  settled  work  at  Bolobo.    I  long  for  it  very  devoutly.' 

It  will  be  impossible  in  these  pages  to  trace  in  due 
sequence  all  this  'going  and  coming  and  rushing  here 
and  there,'  but  the  selections  made  from  his  correspond- 
ence may  suffice  to  reveal  the  man,  and  to  indicate  not 
inadequately  the  nature  of  his  work.  Certainly  the 
reader  will  never  understand  Grenfell,  unless  he  realizes 
that  this  competent  engineer,  expert  traveller,  and  bril- 
liant explorer  was  first  of  all  a  missionary.  The  passion 
for  souls  possessed  him.  The  mechanical  and  geo- 
graphical work  which  he  did  so  nobly  was  done  in  sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  God,  and  at  the  cost  of  self-denial. 
He  yearned  for  direct  spiritual  service,  and,  incompre- 
hensible as  it  may  seem  to  the  man  of  science,  it  is 
simply  true,  that  the  explorer's  exultation  which  thrilled 
him  when  the  morning  sun  flashed  upon  his  gaze  the 
broad  splendours  of  a  previously  undiscovered  lake,  was 
a  faint  emotion  compared  with  the  joy  which  possessed 
him  when  he  saw  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
glory  of  God  transfiguring  some  dear  black  face,  which 
his  ministry  had  turned  toward  the  face  of  Christ. 

A  poor  Congo  boy  passes  away  in  his  presence, 
radiant  with  the  Christian's  victory  over  death.  Grenfell 
rises  from  his  bedside  to  bear  witness  that  the  sight  of 
such  another  victory  would  be  sufficient  compensation 
for   another   fifteen   years   of  toil   in   Africa.      Medals^ 

S 


258  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

decorations,  fame,  are  incidental  trifles  to  a  man  of  this 
order.  He  works  for  higher  wages.  And  when  he  him- 
self lay  dying,  afar  from  the  dear  ones  of  his  own  flesh 
and  blood,  the  black  boys  who  stood  about  his  couch 
with  streaming  eyes  and  breaking  hearts,  shaken  by 
his  anguish,  and  sharers  of  his  hope,  who  called  him 
'  Father,'  and  whom  he  called  '  sons ' :  these  were  in  that 
death-hour  his  *  beloved  and  longed  for,  his  joy  and  his 
crown.' 

After  dealing  with  the  press  of  business  which  awaited 
him  at  Underbill,  Grenfell  commenced  inquiries  with  a 
view  to  ascertain  assignable  causes,  if  such  existed,  of  the 
recent  heavy  losses.  But  nothing  specific  could  be  dis- 
covered. There  seemed  no  reason  why  the  Baptist  Mission 
should  suffer  more  than  others  ;  and  in  the  event  it  was 
proved  that  though  its  troubles  had  come  with  a  rush, 
other  Missions  and  commercial  enterprises  were  liable  to 
like  disasters.  Certain  simple  counsels,  however,  he  was 
constrained  to  proffer.  Tinned  meats  should  be  used 
sparingly,  and  the  false  economy  of  stinting  disallowed. 
Drugs  should  be  regarded  with  suspicion,  and  quinine 
taken  in  small  doses.  He  was  also  strongly  of  opinion 
that  it  was  all  gain  for  a  missionary  to  be  married,  for 
the  simple  reasons  that  a  wife  would  take  care  of  his 
diet,  and  constrain  him  to  take  reasonable  care  of 
himself 

Now  for  his  own  words. 

To  Mrs.  Hartland. 

November  8. 

'  I  wonder  if  I  shall  ever  find  a  resting-place  for  the 

sole  of  my  foot,  this   side   Jordan.  .  .  .  How  fast   the 

band  *'  over  there  "  is  increasing  !     We  who  are  still  left 


An  Episcopal  Wood-Cutter   259 

cannot  but  wonder  how  soon  we  too  may  be  called  to 
join.     Not  our  will,  but  His  be  done.' 

The  same  date,  to  Mr.  Baynes  anent  Bishop  Taylor's 
'  Self-supporting  Mission '  (Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  America), 

'  I  must  give  Bishop  Taylor  credit  for  a  great  deal. 
He  is  in  earnest.  He  is  patient.  He  is  a  sincere, 
good  man  whom  I  greatly  admire,  but  he  is  no  more 
fit  to  encounter  the  practical  difficulties  of  the  work 
he  has  in  hand  than  I  am  to  organize  an  expedition  to 
the  moon.  His  people  are  like  himself,  ready  to  endure 
great  hardships.  .  .  .  The  Bishop  himself  sets  the  example 
by  cutting  firewood  day  after  day.  I  told  him,  however, 
we  could  get  a  man  to  cut  wood  for  half  a  dollar  a  day, 
and  it  hardly  paid  for  a  Bishop  to  do  it.  .  .  .  They  have 
lots  to  learn  yet' 

[Bishop  Taylor  died  in  America  some  years  ago,  long 
after  his  Mission  on  the  Congo  ceased  to  exist] 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

December  6. 

*  Our  need  for  reinforcements  is  very  great,  and 
unless  help  speedily  arrives  we  shall  imperil  our  Pool  and 
Lukolela  Stations.  The  steamer  has  not  been  docked 
since  April  last,  and  cannot  be  docked  until  I  reach 
Arthington.  Bentley  is  worrj'ing  himself  because  of  our 
position  being  so  serious,  and  is  preparing  the  way  for 
a  serious  illness,  if  he  does  not  learn  to  take  things 
more  calmly.  Things  do  not  move  so  fast  nor  run  so 
satisfactorily  as  his  ardent  spirit  desires,  and  he  chafes 
sorely.  If  I  had  his  energy  and  "  go,"  I  might  feel  as 
keenly  as  he  does,  but  my  more  lethargic  temperament 
suits  my  poor  body  and  the  climate  better  than  his  more 


26o  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

fervent  spirit  suits  its  environment.  If  he  could  only  get 
help,  it  would  do  him  more  good  than  medicine.  I  feel 
it  to  be  quite  true,  as  Mrs.  Bentley  writes  in  a  note  just 
to  hand,  that  "  men  to  help  us  bear  our  burdens  are 
more  needed  than  doctors  to  physic  us."  ' 

To  Mr.  Fuller,  at  Cameroons.  I  : 

Underbill,  December  12. 

'  Do  you  remember  giving  me,  in  the  kindness  of  your 

heart,  a  bottle  of  ammonia  fort,  when  at  Cameroons  on 

my  way  down  ?     I  shall  never  forget  it,  for  it  gave  me 

such  a  "  doing  "  on  Saturday  when  I  came  to  open  it,  as 

both  startled  myself  and  those  around   me  out  of  our 

respective  wits.     The  stopper  had  "jammed,"  and  as  I 

was   tapping    it   with  a  bit  of  stick,  off  it  went  like  a 

champagne  cork,  and  the  "  liquor  "  fizzed  up  in  my  face, 

fetching  some  of  the  skin  off,  baring  my  lips  and  the  end 

of  my  tongue,  and  so  affecting  my  throat  that  I've  lost 

my  voice,  and  have  to  go  about  v/ith  a  miserable  bit  of 

a  squeak.     This  is  the  third  day,  and  I'm  much  better. 

It   nearly  choked  me.     I  could  not  get  my  breath  for 

several    minutes,   and   was   struggling   like  a  drowning 

man  for  some  time.     My  poor  wife  could  not  make  out 

what  was  the  matter,  and  I  could  not  speak.     Naturally 

enough,  I  had  fever  yesterday.     I  thank  God  it  is   no 

worse,  for  if  I  had  not  had  specs,  on,  I. might  have  lost 

my   sight.     So  you   see   I'm   not  likely  to  forget  your 

bottle  of  ammonia  fort.' 


To  Miss  Hawkes. 

December  12. 

'  We  got  a  capital  letter  from  San  Salvador  yesterday. 
They  have  had  a  baptismal  service,  and  are  full  of  hope 
and  enthusiasm.     I    wonder   when  we  shall  be  able  to 


Chpistmas  Greetings         261 

chronicle  similar  good  tidings  on  the  upper  river.  In 
His  own  good  time.  If  we  only  had  enough  men  to 
stop  the  gaps  made  by  the  three  last  deaths,  we  could 
have  another  new  station  before  Midsummer,  Some 
people  say,  "  Don't  go  forward — God  is  not  pleased  with 
your  rushing  ahead,  and  so  these  deaths  occur,"  and  so 
forth.  It  is  strange  if  God  lets  men  die  on  the  lower 
river  to  show  His  displeasure  with  the  forward  work  I  It 
is — well,  I  won't  say  what  I  think  it  is.  Our  work  at 
Lukolela  is  most  encouraging.  .  .  .  My  temperature  is 
up  to  101°.     I  ought  to  be  in  bed,  so  the  others  say.' 

*  December  13.  I  feel  better  this  morning,  though  I 
had  rather  a  bad  night  of  it.  I'm  at  work  as  usual,  so 
there  is  no  cause  to  worry.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Christmas  Day. 

'  We  are  six  days'  journey  on  our  way  to  the  Pool, 
and  are  now  camped  by  the  side  of  the  Kwilu  River, 
having  a  quiet  day  in  our  tents.  Being  Christmas  Day, 
naturally  enough  we  think  of  the  home  folk.  At  such 
times  as  these  one's  thoughts  don't  take  long  to  reach 
the  old  home  country,  and  also,  naturally  enough,  one 
wishes  to  send  greetings  all  round.  You  must  give  our 
friends  a  "  Happy  Xmas  "  for  us,  though  it  will  be  rather 
late  by  the  time  the  message  reaches  them.  .  .  .  Heneage 
Street  and  the  friends  there  rise  up  very  vividly,  and 
there  are  lots  we  should  like  to  shake  hands  and  ex- 
change greetings  with.  However,  though  we  are  far 
away  from  one  another  we  are  all  near  to  the  Source 
whence  comes  our  every  blessing,  and  I've  no  doubt  that 
as  we  in  our  camp  on  the  river-bank  think  of  and  pray 
for  those  in  the  far-off  home  country,  so  there  are  many 
there  who  will  think  of  and  pray  for  us  out  here.' 


262  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

At  the  end  of  February  Grenfell  is  at  Stanley  Pool, 
busy  refitting  the  steamer,  and  gladly  expectant  of  the 
arrival  of  Slade,  a  new  recruit.  He  is  also  glad  in 
the  prospect  of  welcoming  Miss  Silvey  and  Miss  Butcher 
by  the  middle  of  the  year.  Writing  to  Miss  Hawkes  on 
February  27,  he  hopes  to  be  off  to  Lukolela  in  a  fort- 
night, and  notes  that  Percy  Comber  will  be  returning  to 
England  by  the  mail  that  bears  his  letter.    He  continues — 

'When  in  Brussels  I  was  thrown  very  much  into 
company  with  Captain  Van  de  Velde.  He  came  out  to 
Congo  to  lead  a  new  expedition  to  the  Falls  a  couple 
of  months  after  I  left,  and,  poor  fellow,  died  a  few  days 
after  reaching  the  Pool.  Baron  von  Rorhkirk  died  at 
Nshasha  a  few  days  before  I  arrived,  and  another  officer 
of  the  State  died  on  his  way  down  river  a  few  days  later. 
So  you  see  it  is  not  only  the  missionaries  who  suffer.  .  .  . 

'  Jack  is  very  well,  and  when  he  turns  out  on  Sunday 
with  his  English-made  clothes  is  very  much  admired  by 
his  companions,  and  envied  too,  especially  by  poor 
Bungudi,  whose  place  he  took.  Bungudi,  I'm  afraid, 
has  not  yet  forgiven  his  mother  for  having  kept  him 
back,  and  when  she  was  here  the  other  day  I  fancy  she 
was  sorry  her  boy  had  missed  the  advantages  Dikulu 
had  enjoyed.  The  girl  is  quite  a  different  creature  from 
the  one  you  took  down  to  the  docks  late  one  wintry 
night  last  spring,  and  is  really  quite  sprightly  and  sharp. 
She  has  rather  a  big  share  of  ^the  old  Adam  cropping  up 
at  times ;  but  never  mind,  there  are  a  good  many  of  us 
afflicted  that  way. 

'  This  is  but  a  bit  of  a  note,  but  you'll  rather  get  it 
than  nothing  at  all — so  I  shan't  keep  it  back  because  it 
is  a  mere  scrap. 

'  Remember  us  to  everybody  to  whom  you  know  I 
owe  letters,  just  to  stave  off  their  wrath.' 


o 


Ppogress  at  Lukolela        26 

To  Mr,  Baynes. 

Stanley  Pool,  April  i8,  1888. 
'  The  "  Peace "  returned  to  this  place  on  the  1 3th, 
leaving  all  well  up  river,  and  finding  all  well  here.  Our 
farthest  point  was  Lukolela.  I  was  particularly  gratified 
by  the  progress  made  in  the  language  by  our  brethren 
Richards  and  Darby,  .  .  .  The  buildings  at  their  station 
are  as  yet  very  primitive.  Two  men  cannot  do  much  in 
the  language  and  devote  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  this 
matter  in  a  year  and  a  half.  They  have  made  a  good- 
sized  clearing  in  the  forest— about  eight  acres — and  have 
put  up  a  substantial  store,  with  clay  walls  and  ceiling,  so 
as  to  render  it  fireproof  The  dwelling-house,  however, 
is  comparatively  small,  and  is  entirely  of  grass.  It 
consists  of  two  bedrooms  twelve  feet  square,  and  a 
common  room  the  same  size.  .  .  . 

'  The  relationships  with  the  people  I  found  to  be  most 
cordial  and  satisfactory.  ...  On  the  23rd  I  purpose 
starting  up  river  again.  .  .  .  You  will  be  glad  to 
hear  that  we  were  able  to  leave  James  Showers  at 
Bolobo,  and  that  by  the  time  we  had  returned  from 
Lukolela  he  had  succeeded  in  putting  up  a  couple  of 
small  grass  houses,  and  that  the  ten  men  left  with  him 
had  cleared  nearly  three  acres  of  scrub  in  readiness  for 
our  proposed  new  station. 

'  Here  at  Nshasha,  Brown  and  Silvey  are  laying  the 
foundations  for  future  usefulness  in  diligent  study  of  the 
Kiteke  language.  Nothing  much  can  be  done  among 
the  people  till  their  language  is  fairly  mastered.  I  trust 
that  our  numbers  will  be  so  maintained  as  to  allow  of 
our  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  Mission  without  those 
terribly  wasteful  changes  from  place  to  place  which  have 
done  so  much  to  prevent  several  of  us  from  becoming 
proficient  in  any  particular  dialect.  ...  I  am  very  hopeful 


264  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

that  the  season  of  our  abnormal  proportion  of  losses  is 
past.  That  it  may  not  recur  is  the  subject  of  many 
prayers  and  grave  consideration  both  out  here  and  at 
home.  The  many  letters  your  correspondents  send  you 
with  advice  as  to  courses  of  procedure  in  the  tropics  are 
very  emphatic  testimony  to  the  depth  of  feeling  our 
losses  have  evoked.  We  are  very  grateful  for  the 
evidence  of  wide-spread  sympathy  which  these  letters 
afford,  though  we  are  quite  unable  to  follow  the  often 
contradictory  advice  they  contain. 

'  The  fact  is,  we  need  men  of  sound  sense,  who  are 
able  speedily  to  perceive  what  is  and  what  is  not  suitable 
to  their  own  special  cases.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
quinine  taken  regularly  is  an  important  factor  in  the 
health  of  many,  while  it  is  equally  certain  that  quinine 
taken  regularly,  in  some  cases  (my  own,  for  instance) 
produces  the  results  it  is  taken  to  prevent.  There  are 
some  to  whom  regular  cold  bathing  is  a  necessary  ;  to 
others  again  it  is  positively  harmful.  Some  would  have 
fever  at  once  if  they  left  off  wool  clothes.  I  should  have 
it  if  I  wore  them.  Mr.  Saker,  too,  could  not  wear 
woollen  clothing ;  Mr.  Quintin  Thomson  wore  nothing 
else.  It  is  impossible,  my  dear  Mr.  Baynes,  to  lay  down 
hard  and  fast  lines  for  modes  of  procedure  in  all  cases. 
We  need  perspective  faculties,  capable  of  recognizing 
the  idiosyncracies  of  various  constitutions,  and  a  righteous 
horror  of  potent  drugs  in  heavy  doses.  I  am  struck  with 
the  uniformly  strong  advice  as  to  conduct  which  is 
insisted  upon  by  your  correspondents  respecting  health 
in  the  tropics,  and  also  by  the  comparatively  little  stress 
which  is  laid  upon  the  matter  of  medicine.  I  am  at  one 
with  them. 

'  On  Sunday  last  the  "  Stanley "  came  down  river 
from    Banalya,   bringing    Mr.    Herbert    Ward    (one    of 


*A  Crooked  old  Stick'        265 

Stanley's  officers  left  at  the  Aruwimi  camp),  who  had 
found  his  way  in  a  canoe  over  half  the  distance  to  the 
Pool.  He  gave  us  no  definite  news  of  Stanley — says  he 
had  none,  excepting  such  as  he  gleaned  from  deserters, 
who  report  scarcity  of  food,  lots  of  fighting,  and  Stanley 
and  one  of  his  officers  slightly  wounded.  This  may  not 
be  all  the  news  he  has  to  send.  We  all  sincerely  hope 
there  is  no  worse,  but  as  he  is  on  his  way  down  country 
to  St.  Paul  de  Loanda  to  telegraph  to  England,  you  will 
have  heard  long  ere  you  get  this.  Unless  there  is  news 
he  does  not  care  to  trust  to  others,  I  can  hardly  imagine 
it  needful  for  him  to  undertake  such  a  journey  (nearly 
2000  miles)  to  merely  report  such  a  bald  outline.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

April  22. 

•  We  are  all  well.  The  upper  river  is  certainly  very 
much  better  than  the  lower.  People  say  I'm  looking 
younger  than  when  I  arrived,  and  were  it  not  for  my 
grey  hairs  should  be  passing  off  for  quite  a  young  man. 
Oh!  those  tell-tale  grey  hairs.  By-the-bye,  the  grey 
hairs  seem  to  be  multiplying  fast.  However,  I  feel  as 
young  as  ever.  ...  I  am  still  alone  on  the  "  Peace." 
Somehow  I  don't  seem  to  mind  ;  in  fact,  I'm  freer  when 
alone.  People  might  think  I  am  a  crooked  old  stick 
to  hear  me  talking  of  liking  to  be  alone.  The  fact  is, 
I  have  greater  liberty  in  talking  to  the  people.  I'm 
wretchedly  nervous  when  there  are  critical  whites  about. 
I  get  on  better  with  my  boys  also. 

'  I  am  hoping  to  hear  by  next  mail  that  the  "  Down 
Grade  "  controversy  has  got  into  smoother  tracks,  and 
that  it  is  being  thrashed  out  without  the  bitterness  of  its 
earlier  phases.  "  All  things  work  together  for  good " ; 
even    this    unpromising    controversy  I  believe   will    be 


266  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

no  exception.  The  sooner  the  good  becomes  apparent 
the  better  for  the  Baptist  Churches  ;  yes,  and  for  all 
Christianity  too.' 

On  May  27  Grenfell  writes  from  Stanley  Pool  of 
another  visit  to  Lukolela,  where  he  found  Darby  well, 
but  Richards  so  ill  as  to  evoke  anxiety.  He  adds  some 
interesting  details  of  Mission  work  at  Arthington. 

'  Here  at  the  Pool  we  are  glad  to  be  able  to  report 
that  we  have  half  a  dozen  Bateke  boys  in  our  school. 
The  Bateke  people  we  have  considered  the  most  difficult 
to  reach  of  any  that  we  have  had  to  deal  with,  so  we  feel 
encouraged  at  finding  the  barrier  that  has  barred  the 
way  so  long  is  being  gradually  broken  down.  For, 
having  reached  the  people  so  as  to  get  them  to  send 
their  children,  we  are  very  hopeful  that  we  shall  ere  long 
be  able  to  reach  their  hearts  and  consciences.  It  is 
slow,  and  at  times  terribly  up-hill  work.  It  needs 
patience  and  grace,  and  wisdom  in  no  small  measure 
to  enable  one  to  do  anything  in  it.  What  should  we 
do  if  we  had  not  the  Source  of  all  wisdom  and  grace 
to  go  to  ?  As  it  is,  our  hearts  are  confident  that  in 
God's  own  good  time  the  harvest  will  come.' 

In  his  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes  of  April  18,  from  which 
extracts  have  been  already  given,  Grenfell  wrote  at  some 
length  of  Mr.  Graham  Wilmot  Brooke,  a  young  man  who 
had  passed  up  the  Congo  some  months  before,  intending 
to  penetrate  the  Soudan,  and  to  overcome,  single-handed, 
difficulties  which  had  foiled  'established  organizations,' 
and  which  '  Livingstone  had  not  dared  to  face.'  He 
spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  Mr.  Brooke's  abilities  and 
character,  but  feared  that  he,  like  Bishop  Taylor  and 
others,  would  find  that  '  the  wings  of  faith  were  not  the 
ordained  means  for  crossing  continents.'      Two  months 


Mp.  Brooke  267 

later,  June  23,  he  writes  again  of  Mr.  Brooke,  who  had 
failed  to  enter  the  Soudan. 

'  Mr.  Brooke  has  been  staying  with  us  during  the 
past  four  weeks,  and  we  have  enjoyed  his  company  very 
much,  and  I  trust  have  benefited  by  fellowship  with  him. 
Though  but  very  young  (only  twenty-two,  I  think), 
he  is  exceptionally  well-informed,  and  is  certainly  very 
talented.  He  is  intensely  zealous,  and  if  his  life  is 
spared,^  I  believe  will  wield  no  small  influence,  in  what- 
ever sphere  he  may  be  able  to  make  his  own.  However, 
his  ability  has  not  ensured  the  success  of  the  scheme  he 
had  in  view  when  leaving  England  a  year  or  so  ago. 
Nevertheless,  it  has  enabled  him  to  throw  off  wrong 
notions,  and  arrive  at  what  I  feel  is  a  just  estimate  of 
the  problem  he  attempted.  If  a  man  is  a  fool,  and  does 
not  know  it,  there  is  not  much  hope  of  him ;  but  if  a 
man  makes  a  mistake,  and  has  the  wit  to  perceive  it,  and 
the  grace  to  acknowledge  it,  there  is  good  reason  to  be 
sanguine  about  him.  Mr.  Brooke  has  learned  many 
things  during  his  short  Congo  experience. 

'  You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  since  writing  you  by 
last  mail  I  have  received  from  the  State  the  ratification 
of  the  contract  made  between  Captain  Hanssens  and 
myself,  in  1884,  for  the  site  at  Bolobo.' 

In  the  same  letter  Grenfell  records  the  settlement  of 
difficulties  which  the  State  had  raised  concerning  the 
site  at  Bolobo,  and  makes  the  following  declaration  con- 
cerning the  condition  and  prospects  of  the  Mission. 

'The  shorthandedness  of  the  Upper  River  staff  is 
making  me  downhearted.  Here  at  Arthington,  Brown 
is  almost  entirely  absorbed  with  the  cares  of  managing 
the  station,  and  I  have  time  for  but  little  else  than  the 
steamer  and  the  other  routine  duties  which  devolve  upon 
'  Mr.  Wilmot  Brooke  died  at  Lokoja,  on  the  Niger,  March  5,  1892, 


268  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

me.  If  we  are  going  to  be  content  with  one  river  station, 
I  certainly  do  not  feel  inclined  to  keep  the  steamer 
running  for  its  sake  ;  in  fact,  I  sometimes  feel  inclined 
to  let  her  remain  high  and  dry  where  she  is  until  we  can 
make  such  a  move  forward  as  will  justify  the  expense 
and  trouble  a  steamer  involves.  This  much  is  very  plain 
— we  are  working  upon  a  terribly  extravagant  scale, 
considering  the  work  we  are  doing.  We  have  organized 
elaborate  overland  and  up-river  transport,  and  expend 
the  greater  part  of  our  strength  in  keeping  the  machinery 
running.  The  same  machinery  would  serve  for  the  ten 
proposed  up-river  stations.  But  as  for  one  up-river 
station  we  cannot  work  with  less  machinery,  you  can 
easily  realize  the  wasteful  conditions  under  which  we 
are  placed,  and  you  cannot  be  surprised  that  there  are 
not  a  few  of  us  who  are  very  much  dissatisfied  at  spend- 
ing so  much  strength  for  so  little  more  than  nothing. 

'  If  there  is  any  prospect  of  the  original  programme 
being  filled,  or  even  half  filled,  we  will  still  be  glad  to  do 
the  drudgery  and  keep  the  machine  running  ;  but  if  the 
Society  has  decided  to  call  the  flag  back  instead  of  bring- 
ing the  men  up  to  the  flag,  the  sooner  you  sound  the 
recall  and  begin  to  reorganize  the  better.  We  can't  con- 
tinue as  we  are,  it  is  either  advance  or  retreat ;  but  if  it 
is  retreat,  you  must  not  count  upon  me.  I  will  be  no 
party  to  it,  and  you  will  have  to  do  without  me. 

'  I  might  plead  with  the  Churches  that  for  the  sake 
of  our  great  Head,  for  the  sake  of  the  terribly  sin- 
stricken  "  heart  of  Africa,"  that  out  of  love  for  and  regard 
to  the  memory  of  our  dear  Comber,  who  died  just  a  year 
ago,  that  Tor  each  and  all  of  these  reasons  they  should 
keep  their  pledges  ;  but  my  heart  is  hot  within  me,  and 
I  feel  I  cannot  plead.  If  love  and  duty  and  sacred 
promises  are  nothing,  nothing  that  I  can  say  will  avail. 


Another  Daug'hter  269 

'  In  great  heaviness  of  spirit,  but  in  the  assurance  of 
your  profound  personal  sympathy  with  us,  I  remain,'  etc. 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

June  28. 

'  As  IVe  to  send  an  advice  of  a  bill  of  exchange  since 
I  despatched  my  letters,  I  will  take  the  opportunity  for 
adding  a  line  or  two. 

*  You  will  think  that  I  had  a  very  heavy  fit  of  the 
"  blues  "  on  at  the  time  I  closed  my  letter  to  you,  and  be 
impatient  with  me  for  being  so  grumpy.  Well,  the  fact 
is  I  felt  very  downhearted.  Richards  had  just  returned 
from  Lukolela  on  his  way  to  England,  and  I  felt  very 
sad  at  the  prospect  of  Brown,  Darby,  Silvey,  and  myself 
being  left  to  take  care  of  Arthington,  Lukolela,  and  the 
steamer,  with  no  prospect  of  help  from  down  country, 
as  it  is  felt,  or  was  felt  when  letters  left  there  a  few  days 
ago,  that  Harrison  could  not  leave  Wathen  till  some  new 
men  came  out' 

By  the  same  mail  he  writes  to  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Fuller, 
expressing  gladness  in  his  safe  arrival  in  England  after 
all  the  anxieties  and  difficulties  connected  with  the 
transfer  of  the  Cameroons  Mission  to  a  German  Society, 
in  consequence  of  the  action  of  the  German  Government, 
and  continues : 

*  I  am  the  father  of  another  daughter  who  came  to 
light  a  fortnight  ago.  My  wife  and  the  little  one  are 
both  getting  on  capitally. 

'How  about  your  Cameroons  Mission  History  .!*i  Have 
you  been  able  to  get  far  through  with  it  >  If  you  don't 
mind  taking  a  hint  from  me,  accept  my  advice,  and  lay 
more  stress  on  incidents  and  the  elaborating  of  interest- 
ing details  of  the  country  and  the  work  than  on  mere 

'  This  work,  which  Grenfell  was  to  edit,  was.  never  finished. 


270  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

dates.  If  you  will  only  imagine  you  are  telling  Grenfell 
yarns  about  old  times,  you  will  make  a  capital  book  that 
will  do  a  lot  of  good.' 


To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Stanley  Pool,  July  27. 

*  This  has  been  a  bad  week.  We  commenced  it  with 
three  of  our  number  in  bed,  and  myself  the  only  one 
able  to  get  around  and  look  after  them,  for  my  wife  was 
busy  looking  after  our  poor  little  Dorothy,  who  made  the 
fourth  patient.  Baby,  unhappily,  got  no  better,  and  we 
had  to  bury  her  the  day  before  yesterday.  Mamma  is 
worrying  terribly,  and  making  herself  bad  about  it.  The 
child  was  wonderfully  healthy  and  vigorous,  and  every- 
body is  surprised  to  hear  of  her  death.  Dr.  Sims  says  it 
is  a  case  of  inflammation  of  the  liver.  Of  our  own  other 
patients,  one,  Harrison,  has  got  quite  right  again.  Brown 
is  getting  better  fast.  The  other,  Matthews,  one  of 
Bishop  Taylor's  men,  who  has  been  helping  us  for  the 
past  three  months,  is  still  very  seriously  ill,  and  not  out 
of  danger.  Till  he  can  be  safely  left,  I  can't  go  up 
river  as  I  intended,  but  hope  that  possibly  I  may  be  able 
to  get  away  next  week. 

'Two  or  three  steamers  have  come  down  river 
during  the  last  fortnight,  but  do  not  bring  any  definite 
news  of  Stanley.  We  are  hoping  that  ere  this  you  will 
have  received  details  of  his  safety  and  success,  and  that 
we  shall  not  be  long  before  we  get  the  news.  The  only 
news  we  get  is  that  Tippoo  Tib,  when  he  was  sending 
his  400  men  away  with  the  second  part  of  the  expedition 
last  month,  said  :  "  Do  you  think  I  would  send  my  men 
after  Stanley,  if  I  thought  he  had  not  been  able  to  get 
through  all  right  .?  " 

*  Till  the  last  spell  of  sickness  set  in   I  have  been 


'I  w^ill  kill  three'  271 

busy,  with  the  despatch-box  and  instruments  the  friends 
at  Heneage  Street  gave  me,  in  getting  out  a  map  of  the 
country  between  Musuko  and  Stanley  Pool,  showing  the 
journeys  and  itinerations  of  the  various  missionaries.  I 
hope  to  get  it  published,  for  it  will  both  help  the  men  in 
itinerating  out  here,  and  tend  to  awaken  interest  at  home 
by  showing  the  field  we  have  available  for  work.  Progress 
is  slow,  but  a  great  number  of  towns  have  been  visited. 

'  I  have  also  been  busy  getting  the  notes  of  the  upper 
river  into  shape.  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  have  this  work 
off  my  hands  ;  it  is  troublesome  and  very  wearying,  but 
it  is  important,  and  the  sooner  it  is  done  the  better. 

*  Mr.  Arthington  has  offered  us  a  new  steamer,  if  we 
will  only  work  it  on  the  far-away  reaches  of  the  Congo 
and  its  tributaries  ;  but  at  present  it  is  impossible,  for  I 
am  the  only  man  available  for  the  "  Peace  "  ;  and  what 
could  I  do  with  two  steamers  on  my  hands  ?  I  wish  the 
Churches  would  wake  up  and  send  us  men.  Only  fancy, 
we  talked  years  ago  of  having  ten  up-river  stations, 
and  as  yet  we  have  only  one  established,  and  one  ready 
for  occupation,  but  no  one  but  myself  to  go  to  it,  and  I 
have  the  steamer  on  my  hands.' 

To  Mrs.  Hartland. 

Stanley  Pool,  August  28. 

'  Our   progress   here  at  the    Pool  is  very  slow,   our 

Bateke  neighbours  are  among  the  most  difficult  people 

to   influence   that   we   know.     The   other   Sunday   Mr 

Brown  was  remonstrating  with  the  old  chief  for  killing 

one  of  his  people,  to  put  in  the  grave  with  one  who  had 

died.     He  got  for  reply : — "  You  say  it  is  not  good  for 

me  to  kill — why  then  does  God   kill  my  people }   and 

you  say  God  is  good.     The  next  time  God  kills  one,  I 

will  kill  three !  "  ' 


272  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Stanley  Pool,  September  30. 

'  When  I  wrote  you  last  I  rejoiced  that  we  had  passed 
a  whole  year  without  having  lost  one  from  our  ranks. 
Before  that  letter  could  have  reached  you,  you  must  have 
received  the  sad  tidings  of  the  death  of  our  dear  brother 
Richards  at  Banana.  Our  hearts  are  very,  very  heavy, 
but  still  our  confidence  in  our  Master  does  not  fail  us,  for 
though  it  is  hard  to  understand,  yet  we  very  surely 
believe  that  all  things  work  together  for  good.  We 
shall  sorely  miss  our  brother  Richards.  Being  one  of 
our  front-rank  men,  his  place  will  be  hard  to  fill.  That 
he  should  have  been  taken  does  indeed  seem  strange, 
when  we  consider  how  well  he  stood  the  earlier  portion 
of  his  time,  and  how  well  he  had  equipped  himself  for 
future  usefulness. 

*  I  purpose  starting  to-morrow  for  Bolobo  and 
Lukolela,  and  while  at  the  latter  place  expect  to  give 
effect  to  the  will  of  our  departed  brother,  a  copy  of 
which  I  now  enclose. 

*  We  started  up  river  at  once,  after  the  last  mail  left : 
in  fact,  we  were  so  afraid  of  being  put  in  quarantine,  on 
account  of  smallpox,  that  we  only  stayed  three  days. 
We  took  Mr.  Slade  with  us,  and  went  as  far  as  Lukolela, 
where  we  took  a  heavy  cargo  of  wood  on  board  for  our 
new  station  at  Bolobo,  and  had  two  long  50-feet  beams 
lashed  alongside  and  two  laden  boats  in  tow. 

'  Coming  down  river  we  were  overtaken  by  a  tornado 
that  blew  a  lot  of  things  overboard  and  started  several 
planks  in  the  cabins  and  awning.  Miss  Butcher  and  Miss 
Silvey,  who  were  with  us,  had  quite  a  serious  experience  ; 
in  fact,  it  looked  very  serious  for  all  of  us  for  a  little 
while,  for  the  winds  blew  and  the  waves  beat,  and  our 
anchors  drifted  till  we  nearly  got  into  a  critical  position. 


Bound  for  Ban^ala  273 

But  God  is  good— the  "  Peace  "  seems  to  have  His  special 
care — and  He  brought  us  as  safely  through  this,  as  He 
has  done  through  so  many  other  dangers. 

'  Mr.  Slade  had  been  unwell,  and  so  came  up  river 
for  a  change,  and  I  believe  he  was  benefited  by  the 
voyage.  I  am  hoping  the  way  will  soon  be  clear  for  him 
to  join  us  on  the  river  and  leave  Wathen,  where  he  is 
fixed  just  now.  Miss  Silvey  also  has  been  ill— in  fact, 
so  ill  that  we  had  to  carry  her  on  board.  A  few  days 
made  a  wonderful  change.  She  is  a  very  merry  little 
body,  and  great  chums  with  Mamma. 

'I  expect  we  shall  start  up  the  river  again  in  the 
"Peace"  on  December  i8,  bound  for  Bangala.  This 
will  be  the  longest  voyage  we  have  attempted  since  our 
return.' 

♦November  30,  1888.— The  "Stanley"  is  just  down, 
with  news  of  Stanley  having  returned  to  a  point  within 
a  few  days  of  the  Falls,  and  of  his  having  communicated 
with  Tippoo  Tib.  It  is  said  no  letters  have  come  down 
from  him.  The  loads  left  by  the  Major  Barttelot  ex- 
pedition are  now  in  Stanley's  hands,  on  their  way  to 
Emin,  with  whom  Stanley  had  left  his  white  men,  while 
he  himself  came  back  for  the  second  detachment. 

*  This  is  good  news  for  Central  Africa,  and  is  full  of 
promise  for  the  future.  The  Congo  is  more  conclusively 
than  ever  the  way  to  the  heart  of  Africa,  and  I  pray  that 
Christ's  messengers  may  speedily  recognize  it,  and  in  no 
stinted  measure  take  advantage  of  it. 

'  This  is  a  hurried  note  per  Dutch  House  courier,  who 
is  being  started  off  after  the  mails  have  left,  in  hope  of 
reaching  Banana  in  time  for  the  Portuguese  steamer.' 

In  October,  Grenfell  received  telegraphic  instructions 
to  return  to  England.     He   could  not  obey.     Here   is 

T 


274  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

given  his  reply  to  the  official  letter  which  followed  the 
telegram.  It  is  addressed  to  Mr,  Baynes  and  dated 
Stanley  Pool,  December  15. 

'Your  letter  of  October  i  came  to  hand  two  days 
ago,  and  I  thank  you  very  sincerely  for  the  kind  interest 
in  my  wellbeing,  of  which  it  is  the  evidence.  I  am 
very  much  pained  by  the  thought  that  in  disobeying 
the  call  home  I  may  appear  to  be  disrespectful  and 
rebellious  ;  but  I  feel  sure  that  if  you  were  in  my  place 
you  would  act  as  I  am  doing,  and  put  off  going  home 
till  the  need  is  more  pressing  and  the  time  for  doing 
so  more  opportune.  So  far  as  my  health  is  concerned, 
I  feel  quite  justified  in  prolonging  my  stay,  and 
as  I  believe  that  my  health  is  the  reason  for  the 
urgency  of  your  summons,  I  shall  venture  to  defer 
responding  to  it,  and  to  rely  upon  your  forgiveness  for 
doing  so. 

'  Under  existing  circumstances  I  feel  that  in  delaying 
to  obey  I  am  doing  the  right  thing,  and  that  the  climate 
will  do  me  less  harm  than  the  worry  I  should  suffer  if 
I  went  home  now,  and  left  things  as  they  are.  If  the 
"  Peace "  is  not  up  at  Bangala  on  January  4  with  the 
thirty-five  workpeople  due  home  at  that  date,  we  are 
liable  to  penalties  for  breach  of  contract.  If  I  leave 
as  soon  as  the  Bangala  trip  has  been  made,  the 
"  Peace  "  will  have  to  be  left  at  the  Pool  in  the  care  of 
brethren  who  have  had  no  experience  with  steamers. 
No  ;  my  duty  is  to  stay  awhile  longer ;  and  when 
Silvey  and  Darby  are  relieved,  and  when  Harrison  is 
free  to  join  the  "  Peace,"  I  shall  feel  that  my  way  is 
clear. 

*  The  good  news  of  speedy  reinforcements  that  you 
send  is  very  encouraging.  I  began  to  fear  lest  the 
Baptist  Missionary  Society  had  determined  not  to  send 


Top-Boots  and  Mosquitoes    275 

out  further  help.  May  God  grant  Clark  and  Gordon, 
and  those  who  follow  them,  healthy  bodies,  loving  hearts, 
and  fervent  souls  for  the  work,  and  long  sustain  them  to 
labour  in  it ! 

*  Thanking  you  very  sincerely  for  the  very  kind  terms 
of  your  letter,  and  for  all  the  consideration  you  display 
for  me ;  and  hoping  that  you  will  not  misconstrue  my 
failure  to  comply  with  its  request,  I  remain,'  etc. 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  February  i8,  1889. 

'  It  is  ten  p.m.  and  mosquitoes  are  buzzing  round 
furiously.  To  save  my  ankles,  I'm  wearing  top-boots 
and  tucking  my  trouser-legs  inside  ;  to  protect  my  hands, 
I've  bathed  them  in  dilute  carbolic  acid,  but  still  the 
pests  won't  let  me  alone.  All  this  by  way  of  excusing 
myself  from  writing  more  than  a  very  short  note.  I  did 
not  write  by  last  mail,  and  as  an  opportunity  for  sending 
off  at  daylight  to-morrow  has  just  offered,  I  feel  I  must 
not  fail  to  send  a  line  or  two — if  it  is  only  to  tell  you  that 
by  last  mail  we  got  no  letter  from  you.  There  is  another 
mail  in  at  the  Pool,  and  may  reach  us  in  a  fortnight ;  it 
will  bring  the  Christmas  letters,  and  one,  I  trust,  with 
good  news  from  yourself.  Another  mail  is  due  in  ten 
days  at  Banana,  that  I  hope  to  meet  at  Arthington, 
whither  we  propose  going  in  three  weeks'  time.  We 
have  been  up  here  nearly  a  month  now,  and  are  begin- 
ning to  get  a  bit  straight,  and  to  get  into  regular  work. 
Miss  Silvey  and  Miss  Butcher,  who  are  with  us,  are 
taking  school  work  and  visiting  the  towns  daily. 

'  Bolobo  is  a  splendid  place  for  health.  If  increased 
food  consumption  is  any  index,  then  I  am  much  better 
than  I  have  been  for  some  time  back.  The  amount  of 
pudding  (rice  pudding,  let  me  say)   that   I  stow  away 


276  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

would  alarm  even  my  mother,  who  knew  my  capacity  in 
that  direction  a  long  while  ago. 

'  The  people  here  continue  very  friendly,  and  we  are 
very  hopeful  about  the  future.  We  only  regret  we  are 
not  able  to  speak  the  language  better — however,  we 
are  all  hard  at  work  at  it.  One  old  chief  (Gotchaka) 
who  came  to  see  us  yesterday  was  greatly  surprised  at 
the  harmonium.  He  wanted  to  know,  when  he  heard 
music  issue  from  it,  whether  or  not  it  was  the  Nyambi 
(God)  we  had  been  telling  him  of.  It  does  not  speak 
very  well  for  our  power  of  talking  (or  possibly  of  his 
capacity  for  understanding),  but  I  was  glad  to  be  able  to 
tell  him  it  was  not  Nyambi,  but  something  to  help  us 
to  praise  Him.  Such  incidents  are  pegs  to  hang  our 
talks  upon — our  texts,  in  fact.  I  wonder  when  we  shall 
be  able  to  take  a  text  and  give  them  chapter  and 
verse,?' 

To  Mr,  Hawkes, 

Stanley  Pool,  March  27. 

'After  Slade's  visit  to  the  Pool  and  journey  to  Lukolela 
I  meant  to  have  written,  and  told  you  how  I  was  looking 
forward  to  his  joining  me  on  the  Upper  River.  But  the 
poor  fellow  had  died  before  I  found  an  opportunity  to 
write,  and  his  death  involved  my  remaining  single- 
handed,  and  the  continuance  of  the  press  of  routine  work, 
which  has  sadly  hampered  and  oppressed  me.  Slade 
was  a  splendid  fellow,  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and 
eminent  piety,  one  of  the  most  spiritually  minded  men 
we  have  had,  and  yet  withal  a  really  practical  common- 
sense  man.  It  was  indeed  a  blow  to  me  to  learn  that  he 
had  been  called  "home" — the  news  met  me  on  my  return 
from  Bangala  in  January  last — you  must  have  heard  it  a 
few  days  later,' 


BOLOBO:    GRENFELL'S  HOUSE   AND   STORE,   AND   THE    SCHOOL- 
CHAPEL,    IN    1890. 
Photo:  G.   Grenfell. 


[Photo:  G.  Grenfell, 
BOLOBO   STATION,   UPPER    CONGO:    Grenfell's  Home  for  Sixteen  Years. 


Easter  Day  277 

To  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis,  Birmingham. 

Stanley  Pool,  April  29. 
'Your  welcome  New  Year's  letter  reached  me  the 
mail  before  last,  but  the  photos  therein  referred  to  only 
came  by  the  last.  So,  you  see,  if  I  am  not  exactly 
answering  by  return  of  post,  I  am  next  door  to  doing  it. 
Thank  you,  my  dear  old  friend,  for  your  affectionate 
greetings  ;  they  come  like  summer  showers  on  thirsty 
land,  and  refresh  my  poor  dried-up  soul.  Eh,  Tom  lad, 
it  is  shrivelling-up  sort  of  work,  so  much  alone,  and 
surrounded  by  so  much  sorrow  and  sin.  One  longs  for 
the  old  friends  and  old  times,  and  gets  impatient  now 
and  then  for  the  good  times  that  are  surely  coming. 
However,  I  must  not  grumble  ;  God  is  very  good  to  me, 
in  allowing  me  to  hold  on  and  see  so  much  accomplished 
in  His  Name.  It  is  surprising,  when  I  count,  how  few 
seniors  I  have  on  the  coast.  I  don't  know  of  one  on  the 
Congo ;  I  don't  mean  in  age,  but  in  years  of  African 
service.  At  Bolobo,  on  the  first  Sunday  in  March,  I 
held  the  first  Baptismal  Service  on  the  Upper  Congo,  and 
on  Sunday  last  I  opened  the  first  meeting-house.  It  is 
only  a  very  modest  sort  of  chapel,  about  twenty-two  feet 
square,  with  walls  of  sun-dried  bricks  three  feet  high,  and 
doorways  on  each  side.  Being  Easter  Day,  we  had  a 
talk  about  the  Resurrection,  and  altogether  a  very  enjoy- 
able service  ;  about  seventy  natives  were  present.  A 
considerable  proportion  of  our  congregation  found  seats 
on  the  walls,  for  as  yet  we  have  only  two  or  three 
benches  ready. 

'  You  will  remember  my  little  boy  JackiDikulu.  Poor 
fellow,  he  died  on  March  16,  but  died  very  happy.  He 
knew  the  end  was  near  and  was  not  at  all  afraid.  The 
baptismal  service  to  which  I  have  referred  above  was 
held  a  fortnight  before  Jack  died,  and  he  was  greatly 


278  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

troubled  that  his  friend  Bungudi  was  baptised,  and 
that  he  himself  was  not.  However,  though  he  was  not 
admitted  into  our  Church,  I  feel  sure  he  is  safely  in  the 
heavenly  fold.  When  the  end  came  his  good  friend 
Bungudi  was  with  him,  as  well  as  some  other  boys,  and 
the  prayers  of  the  sick  lad  and  his  companions  will  be 
long  remembered  by  us  all.  I  wish  Canon  Taylor  could 
have  been  with  us.  .  .  .  Yet  folk  at  home  are  talking 
about  the  "  cost,"  and  "  Missions  a  failure."  Some  of  us 
missionaries  are  failures — that  can't  be  gainsaid.  But 
still  I  maintain  that  if  Missions  are  a  failure  then  is 
Christ's  death  a  failure,  and  woe  is  me ! 

'  I  intended  this  to  be  a  good  long  letter  in  reply 
to  yours — I  don't  know  how  many  pages — but  I  find 
I  must  already  think  of  winding  up,  for  our  own 
courier  has  already  started,  and  I  must  make  up  my 
packet  of  mails,  in  the  hope  of  getting  it  down 
country  by  State  courier,  who  leaves  a  little  later  than 
our  own. 

'  You  refer  to  "  broadening  out."  There  is  nothing  like 
work  in  the  Mission  field  for  widening  one's  horizon. 
Where  I  am  exactly,  I  don't  know,  any  more  than  a 
good  many  celebrities  seem  to  know  where  they  are. 
I  know  John  iii.  16,  and  that's  good  enough  holding- 
ground  for  my  anchor.  When  I  see  the  miserable 
littleness  of  some  of  you  Christians,  I  am  as  glad  to 
be  away  from  it  all  as  I  am  glad  to  be  out  of  the 
interminable  Irish  question.  As  you  say,  "  Christianity 
wants  more  of  Christ's  Spirit  and  less  Theology."  So 
say  I,  my  dear  Tom.  Our  Christianity  is  too  much  a 
matter  of  words,  and  far  too  little  a  matter  of  works. 
One  might  think  that  works  were  of  the  devil,  by  the 
assiduity  with  which  the  great  proportion  of  our  Church 
members  keep  clear  of  them.' 


The  Dog"  'Rang-er'  279 

*  Bolobo,  July  25.     The  "  Peace  "  started  down  river 

yesterday    at   noon,    Darby   and    Cameron    as   well    as 

Harrison   being    on   board.      Cameron    goes   down    to 

Wathen,  and  expects  to  find  his  sphere  there.     Darby  is 

homeward  bound,  and  takes  with  him  a  lot  of  MS.,  the 

result  of  persistent  labour  spent  upon  the  language  of 

the  Bobangi  people,  among  whom  he  has  been  labouring 

during  the  past  two  years  or  more.     He  goes  home  full 

of  enthusiasm    about   the  work,  and  hopes  to  be  able 

to  secure  such  sympathy  at  home  as  will  make  going 

forward  a  plain  thing  when  he  returns.     He  is  greatly 

impressed  by  the  opportunities  for  work  here  at  Bolobo, 

and  has   seen  so  much  of  the  cruelty  of  the   customs 

of  the   people,    and    the    deep    degradation   to    which 

they  have  sunk,  that  he  is  on  fire  to  urge  for  further 

help.  .  .  . 

'  Darby  has  a  fine  dog  that  belonged  to  poor  Captain 
Deane  up  till  the  time  when  he  was  killed  while  elephant- 
hunting  near  Darby's  station  at   Lukolela.      This   dog 
"  Ranger,"  a  big  brown  retriever,  was  the  cause  of  much 
discussion  among  the  natives,  his  position  zoologically  to 
their  minds  being  very  doubtful.      Some  said  it  was  a 
wild  beast  from  the  forest,  some  said  it  was  a  sheep  ;  but 
a  sheep  does  not  make  a  noise  that   frightens  people, 
objected  others.    One  man  said  (referring  to  my  donkey), 
"  But  that  is  nothing  to  the  one  at  Bolobo,  he  puts  out 
his  tail,  and  stretches  out  his  neck  and  says  hee-haw, 
hee-haw,  till  you  are  obliged  to  put  your  fingers  in  your 
ears.     He   is   very  big,  nearly  as   big  as  a  house,  and 
Mundele  ndombe  (James  Showers)  gets  on  his  back  and 
says  '  gee-up,'  and  off  they  go  till  they  are  out  of  sight." 
These  people  are  great  mimics,  and  the  way  in  which 
they  imitate  the  dog,  the  jackass  and  James's  motion  In 
riding,  is  very  realistic  and  comical.' 


28o  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  October  22  and  December  24. 

'  The  railway  will  work  marvellous  changes  on  the 
Congo :  the  old  order  of  things  will  pass  away  as  if  by 
magic,  and  we  shall  scarcely  recognize  that  we  are  in  the 
same  country.  The  changes  we  have  already  seen  are 
realized  with  great  difficulty  by  new-comers  to  whom  we 
may  speak  of  them.  One  of  the  latest  is  the  establish- 
ment of  a  post-office  at  the  Pool,  the  place  that  cost  us 
so  many  struggles  to  reach  less  than  ten  years  ago. 
More  than  this,  the  State  delivers  all  letters  at  the  various 
stations  along  the  river,  and  in  consequence  of  this  you 
will  please  address  me  in  future  as  per  the  heading  of 
this  letter. 

'  I  wish  I  could  report  as  much  improvement  in  the 
people  as  in  the  circumstances  of  the  country.  In  some 
places  wonderful  results  have  followed  the  missionaries* 
efforts,  but  compared  with  the  general  state  of  affairs  ten 
years  ago  I  am  afraid  the  average  has  been  but  infini- 
tesimally  improved.  However,  we  are  not  downhearted  ; 
we  can  see  that  true  progress  is  being  made,  and  many 
things  that  were  done  openly  a  few  years  ago  are  now 
done  in  secret.  The  sense  of  right  and  wrong  needs  a 
lot  of  cultivating,  after  having  been  repressed  so  long : 
the  people  tell  us  they  cannot  see  the  harm  of  killing 
witches,  or  slaves  whom  they  have  bought ;  nor  can  they 
see  why  they  should  not  steal  or  tell  lies,  if  they  manage 
to  do  so  without  being  found  out. 

'  I  have  just  finished  translating  the  Ten  Command- 
ments. "  They  are  very  good,"  the  people  say  ;  but 
none  arc  willing  to  be  fettered  by  the  awkward  conditions 
involved  by  accepting  them.  They  would  be  very  glad 
if  their  neighbours  accepted  them,  for  they  can  see  the 
advantage  of  living  among  well-behaved  people.     They 


Goings  dovrn  the  Hill         281 

cannot  at  all  see,  though,  why  the  Supreme  should 
trouble  about  their  dealings  one  with  the  other,  or  why 
they  should  be  answerable  to  Him  for  their  wrong- 
doings. .  .  . 

*  Personally,  I  am  in  favour  of  occupying  Upoto,  the 
farther  of  the  two  available  sites,  a  point  about  400  miles 
beyond  Lukolela,  a  much  more  populous  place  and  a 
better  position  than  Lulanga,  which  is  only  half  the  dis- 
tance. Another  point  in  favour  of  Upoto  is  the  fact 
that  the  people  there  speak  the  same  language  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Welle  districts,  to  the  north,  which 
border  upon  Emin  Pasha's  province.  At  Upoto  also  we 
should  be  helping  to  raise  the  barrier  the  State  is  anxious 
to  form  against  the  advance  of  the  Arabs.  Of  course  it 
would  only  be  in  an  exceedingly  small  way  that  we  could 
contribute  to  such  an  end  ;  still,  our  influence  would  be 
in  the  right  direction,  and  that  would  be  something.  As 
a  Mission  we  have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Arabs.  So 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  should  not  mind  starting  a 
station  among  them  at  Stanley  Falls.  It  would  be  hard 
work,  but  not  a  whit  more  dangerous  than  here.  .  .  . 

*  Like  myself,  you  seem  to  have  been  impressed  by 
the  fact  of  getting  into  the  "  forties  "  ;  it  is  indeed  a  period 
to  pull  one  up  sharp,  and  make  him  think.  I  find  I  must 
relinquish  a  lot  of  my  intentions,  and  be  content  with  a 
much  smaller  programme  than  hitherto  I  have  fancied 
myself  equal  to  fill.  I  find  that  if  I  am  to  do  anything 
I  must  concentrate  my  efforts  upon  my  purpose  in  life 
with  a  fuller  consecration  than  ever  before,  I  feel  that 
what  I  do  I  must  do  quickly  now.  A  man  over  forty 
is  certainly  going  down  the  hill  in  Africa.  .  .  . 

'  It  is  Christmas  Eve,  I've  had  a  busy  day,  and  now 
I'm  sitting  in  my  shirt-sleeves  and  perspiring  "  like  any- 
thing," and  even  if  there  were  no  mosquitoes  biting  one 


282  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

to  the  verge  of  desperation,  how  is  it  to  be  expected  of 
me  to  get  up  a  proper  Christmas  frame  of  mind  ?  How- 
ever, I  am  going  over  the  memories  of  old  times,  and 
am  conjuring  up  the  old  faces,  and  wondering  what  they 
look  like  now,  as  well  as  wondering  where  their  owners 
are,  and  what  they  are  doing  ;  and  I  find  myself  wishing 
I  were  among  them  once  more.  However,  if  I  am  not 
with  you  in  body  I  am  in  mind,  and  wish  you  all  the 
very  sincerest  of  seasonable  greetings.  .  .  . 

'  I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  we  have  another  daughter, 
Gertrude,  now  nearly  three  months  old.  We  were  hoping 
for  a  boy,  and  this  one  is  big  enough  to  have  made  a  fine 
sturdy  lad.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  September  25. 

*  The  good  news  of  coming  reinforcements  fill  us  with 
hope  that  we  shall  soon  be  able  to  make  another  forward 
step.  In  fact,  I  hope  to  have  the  ground  cleared  and  a 
small  house  ready  for  the  coming  men  before  the  end  of 
the  year.  I  say  the  coming  men.  I  mean  Mr.  Weeks 
and  one  of  the  new  men,  as  Mr.  Weeks  will  be  released 
from  Underbill  soon  after  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt's  arrival.' 

To  Mrs.  Hartland. 

Stanley  Pool,  November  20. 

*  I  pray  very  earnestly  that  the  health  of  our  brethren 
may  be  maintained.  We  have  suffered  so  terribly, and  have 
been  so  mysteriously  hindered  in  times  gone  by,  that  I 
cannot  help  being  anxious.  Yet  why  should  I  be  ?  It  is 
God's  work,  not  ours,  and  I  am  full  of  hope  that  brighter 
days  are  in  store  for  the  Congo  Mission. 

'  My  wife  is  here  at  Nshasha  with  me.  Also  our  baby 
(two  months  old)  Gertrude.    We  join  in  very  affectionate 


1 


The  Evils  of  War  283 

regards  for  you,  and  hope  the  winter  has  dealt  kindly 
with  you.  Please  remember  us  very  kindly  to  Mr.  Hart- 
land,  and  to  Lily  and  Alice.  I  ought  to  write  to  them. 
I  do  remember  my  fault  this  day.  As  an  excuse  to 
appease  them,  tell  them,  what  I  did  not  mean  to  allude 
to,  I've  had  fever  and  rheumatism  during  the  past  month, 
and  done  less  than  in  any  other  month  since  my  return. 
I  am  happy  to  say,  however,  that  I  am  much  better, 
though  if  I  have  another  such  "  turn  "  I  shall  "  pack  up  " 
at  once.  I  pray  there  may  be  no  necessity  for  a  long 
while  yet.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  December  24. 

'We  are  just  now  in  the  third  week  of  one  of  our 
never-failing  little  wars.  But  although  it  has  lasted  so 
long,  only  four  or  five  have  been  killed  ;  the  wounded, 
however,  have  been  very  numerous.  The  difficulty  has 
arisen  about  five  tusks  of  ivory  found  in  the  river  near 
our  beach  some  months  ago,  but  which  are  said  to  have 
been  put  there  by  the  thief  who  found  them.  I  have 
made  one  or  two  attempts  to  make  peace,  and  succeeded 
in  reducing  the  conflict  to  two  of  the  five  villages  at  first 
involved.  Although  only  so  few  have  been  killed,  the 
suffering  of  the  poor  women  and  children  has  been  very 
sad  to  see.  We  have  had  lots  of  them  sleeping  in  our 
yard  for  many  nights  past.  Even  on  a  small  scale  war 
is  no  little  evil  for  "these  poor  folk  ;  it  means,  as  in  this 
case,  burnt  houses,  destroyed  plantations,  loss  of  goods, 
and  sick  and  weak  being  driven  from  their  homes,  to 
rough  it  among  the  stronger  fugitives,  who  are  better 
able  to  stem  the  tide  of  sorrows  war  brings  in  its  train. 

'  Many  and  deep  have  been  the  curses  that  have  been 
heaped  upon  the  heads  of  the  principals  in  this  matter 


284  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

both  by  the  poor  fugitives,  who  have  sought  safety  in 
flight,  and  the  poor  slaves,  who  form  the  majority  of  the 
fighting  men.  Like  wars  in  civilized  countries,  ours  out 
here  would  soon  be  finished  if  they  were  left  to  those 
directly  interested  in  them.  These  poor  slaves  who  are 
doing  the  fighting  have  no  interest  in  the  ivory,  never 
have  had,  and  if  an  indemnity  of  ten  times  its  value  is 
extorted,  they  won't  benefit  a  single  brass  rod  ;  and  as 
one  of  them  has  just  said  in  our  yard,  in  reply  to  being 
called  a  coward  by  one  of  the  opposite  faction,  "  Why 
should  we  fight  and  die  for  nothing  ? "  This  is  un- 
doubtedly the  explanation  of  so  much  fighting  with  so 
few  losses.  .  .  . 

'  I  think  I  told  you  of  my  having  translated  the  Ten 
Commandments,  and  sent  them  down  to  Underbill,  where 
we  have  a  press,  to  be  printed  there.  I  am  now  busy 
with  the  Gospel  of  Mark,  but  I  find  it  slow  work,  if  I  am 
as  careful  as  I  ought  to  be ;  and  of  course  in  a  work  like 
this  it  would  be  inexcusable  to  hurry,  if  it  means  any- 
thing but  the  best  possible  result.  I  find  it  very  difficult 
to  translate  many  of  the  ideas  which  are  really  of  great 
importance.  For  instance,  I  can  find  no  word  for  "  for- 
giveness," and  it  has  to  be  rendered  by  "  cleansing." 
"  Sanctification  "  I  have  not  ventured  to  grapple  with  yet. 
Of  course,  at  the  best,  in  these  early  days  a  translation  is 
only  an  approximation  to  what  it  ought  to  be,  but  if  I 
can  only  manage  to  give  the  people  an  idea  of  the  truth, 
I  shall  be  very  glad.' 


To  Mrs.  Hartland. 

Bolobo,  Christmas  Day. 

'  I  was  very  glad  to  learn  from  your  letter  that  you 
had  been  able  to  go  to  hear  Mr.  Meyer  and  Mr.  Hender- 
son.    It  is  almost  as  much  a  novelty  for  you  to  hear  a 


A  Coign  of  Vantag^e  285 

sermon  as  myself,  and  now  the  winter  is  upon  you  again 
it  will  be  some  time  before  you  have  another  opportunity. 
I  can  well  understand  the  pleasure  it  must  be  for  you  to 
attend  a  service.  Going  to  a  service  is  far  from  the  least 
of  the  pleasures  of  a  missionary's  homegoing.  I  would 
not  mind  a  good  long  Congo  tramp,  if  I  could  only  hear 
Mr.  Meyer  or  Mr.  Henderson  at  the  end  of  it.' 

To  Dr.  Underhill. 

S.S.  'Peace,'  near  Lukolela,  February  25,  1890. 

'We  are  just  returning  from  our  long-projected 
journey  to  Upoto,  in  search  of  a  site  for  a  new  station. 
Upoto  is  a  point  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  about 
1000  miles  north-east  from  Banana.  I  am  very  glad  to 
report  the  way  is  quite  clear  for  our  settling  at  Upoto,  as 
soon  as  the  men  are  ready  to  go  forward.  The  materials 
for  a  small  frame  house,  and  some  eighty  loads  of  stores 
are  already  on  the  spot.  The  people  are  so  anxious 
for  us  to  build  among  them  that  they  have  sent  one  of 
their  men  with  us,  to  make  sure  of  our  going  back.  It  is 
a  grand  position,  plenty  of  people  and  a  magnificent  site 
— a  splendid  coign  of  vantage  for  future  forward  work. 
May  our  Lord  and  Master  soon  make  our  way  plain  for 
us  to  occupy  it.' 

On  the  journey  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  letter 
Grenfell  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt,  who 
wrote  home  a  long  and  interesting  letter,  descriptive  of 
his  up-river  experiences.  I  append  the  passage  concerning 
Upoto : — 

'  Between  Lukolela  and  Upoto  the  banks  of  the  river 
are,  for  the  most  part,  low,  and,  together  with  the 
numerous  islands,  are  covered  with  dense  forests.  At 
Upoto   the  hill   country   begins   again,  similar  to  that 


286  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

between  Stanley  Pool  and  Bolobo,  affording  a  healthy 
situation  for  a  Mission  station,  and  the  district  is  densely 
populated  by  tribes  the  furthest  removed  from  civiliza- 
tion of  any  I  have  yet  seen. 

'  The  houses  or  huts  are  wretchedly  poor  and  mean, 
and  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  go  about 
without  even  the  smallest  strip  of  cloth  upon  them,  or 
covering  of  any  kind.  Those  living  on  the  river-bank  are 
not  cannibals,  but  we  heard  of  a  woman  recently  killed 
by  these  very  people  over  a  witch  palaver,  whose  body 
was  sold  to  a  tribe  less  than  half  an  hour  inland,  to  be 
eaten,  part  of  the  price  paid  for  it  being  two  live  children. 
This  is  only  a  specimen  of  their  horrible  transactions. 

*  Hundreds  of  people  crowded  the  beach  as  the 
steamer  approached,  while  many  others  were  so 
frightened  that  they  ran  away.  When  at  Ban  gala  we 
were  asked  by  five  men  to  take  them  to  their  country, 
Upoto,  and  we  took  them  on  board.  We  thought  it 
likely  that  our  having  shown  them  this  kindness  would 
prove  helpful  to  the  object  we  had  in  view  ;  and  in  this 
we  were  not  mistaken.  When  we  had  explained  as  well 
as  we  could  the  purpose  of  our  visit,  the  chief  readily 
consented  to  allow  us  to  select  a  site  for  a  station,  and 
when  we  left  he  forced  into  our  boat  a  fine  goat,  which 
he  wished  us  to  accept  as  a  kind  of  pledge  that  we  would 
be  sure  to  return  and  build. 

'  Of  course  the  people  could  but  dimly  understand 
the  reason  of  our  coming  amongst  them,  but  we  made  it 
clear  to  them,  that  we  were  not  traders,  and  for  such  an 
"  open  door  "  for  preaching  the  Gospel  we  ought  to  be 
devoutly  thankful.  The  brethren  who  go  to  establish  this 
new  station  will  have  peculiar  difficulties,  and  I  am  sure  that 
special  prayer  for  them  will  be  offered  by  friends  at  home.* 

In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes,  dated  Bolobo,  March  25, 


The  Ten  Commandments     287 

Grenfell  explains  delay  in  the  matter  of  founding  the 
new  station  at  Upoto,  and  reports  progress  in  the  making 
of  the  slip  at  Bolobo,  which  is  sufficiently  advanced  to 
admit  of  the  "  Peace  "  being  drawn  up  for  painting  and 
repairs.  The  natives,  who  knew  nothing  of  pulleys, 
believed  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  get  the  "  Peace  " 
out  of  the  water,  and  were  amazed  to  see  her  climb  the 
incline.  While  she  was  being  dragged  up  a  slave  was 
being  killed  close  by.  The  apology  for  this  crime  is 
that  some  must  be  killed  to  keep  the  rest  in  order. 

Apropos  of  this  slave-killing,  Grenfell  delivered  a 
very  pointed  discourse  on  the  Ten  Commandments.  His 
audience  were  silent  about  '  Thou  shalt  not  kill,'  but 
enthusiastic  about  Sabbath-keeping,  and  desired  forth- 
with that  a  law  should  be  made  giving  them  a  rest  day, 
like  the  white  man.  Already  they  rest  from  their  labours 
every  fourth  day,  but  the  extra  rest  would  be  quite  to 
their  mind. 

To  Mr.  Baynes, 

Lukolela,  May  5. 

*  I  hoped  to  have  been  able  to  write  you  more  fully 

than  I  can  do  now,  before  leaving  Bolobo,  but  for  one 

reason  or  another  the  time  for  starting  for  Upoto  came, 

and  your  letter  was  still  unwritten.     However,  I  am  now 

able  to  report  William  Forfeitt  and  Oram  thus  far  safely 

on  their  journey  to  their  new  station,  and  full  of  eager 

anticipations  to  enter  upon  their  labours  there.     I  hope 

to  be  back  again  at  Bolobo  by  the  end  of  next  month.' 

Respecting  some  photographs  enclosed,  he  remarks  : 
'  No.  5,  the  dancing  group,  will  hardly  do  for  the  pages  of 
the  Missionary  Herald.  I  suppose  it  would  be  too  shocking, 
and  yet  it  is  respectability  and  decency  itself  compared 
with  the  reality  of  the  greater  part  of  our  surroundings.' 


288  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  June  23. 

'  I  have  just  received  a  note  from  Bentley,  telling  me 
of  your  safe  return,  but  that  you  were  so  indisposed  as 
not  to  be  able  to  take  any  considerable  part  in  the  May 
meetings.  We  sincerely  trust  you  are  quite  recovered 
again.  We  continue  to  pray  for  you,  as  we  have  done 
during  your  absence  in  India,  that  God  may  continue  to 
bless  and  sustain  you  in  the  work  which,  humanly 
speaking,  owes  so  much  to  you. 

'  On  the  Upper  Congo  we  still  enjoy  God's  very 
manifest  blessing  in  the  matter  of  health,  and  if  it  is 
only  maintained  we  anticipate  that  we  shall  be  able  to 
open  a  second  station  during  1890.  The  present  mail 
will  bring  you  word  from  Oram  and  Forfeitt  of  their 
having  commenced  at  Upoto.  They  do  so  under  most 
favourable  auspices.  Our  station  is  in  the  centre  of  a  very 
large  population,  settled  for  some  eight  or  ten  miles  along 
the  bank  of  the  river,  and  having  communication  with  in- 
land tribes  of  unknown,  but  presumably  great  importance. 

*  The  people  belong  to  a  fine  race  physically ;  morally 
we  cannot  say  much  in  their  favour,  excepting  perhaps 
that  they  are  not  quite  so  bad  as  some  of  their 
neighbours.  Their  disposition  towards  us  is  very  en- 
couraging, and  our  brethren  are  full  of  hope.  May  the 
Lord  very  graciously  sustain  them  at  this  our  farthest 
outpost — a  thousand  miles  from  the  sea  ! ' 


To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  August  22. 

'  The  *'  Peace  "  is  expected  to  make  a  journey  to 
Upoto,  conveying  stores,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  and,  if 
all  goes  well,  I  may  continue  my  voyage  as  far  as  the 


5*2s' 


^^;^~^- 


ARRIVAL   OF   THE    REVS.  F.    R-   ORAM   AND   WM.   FORFEITT   AT 

BOPOTO,   TO   FOUND    NEW    STATION,    1S90. 

Photo:  Rev.  Win.  Forfcift. 


A   SCHOOL   FEAST,    BOPOTO,   UPPER   CONGO. 
PJioto:  Rev.  W.  Forfeitt. 


Ppoposed  Pioneeping"        289 

Aruwimi  is  navigable,  and  prepare  a  report  as  to  the 
practicability  of  the  suggestion  to  move  towards  the  Albert 
Nyanza,  an  item  that  has  always  figured  in  Mr. 
Arthington's  programme. 

'  If  I  consulted  my  personal  ease,  I  should  not 
entertain  the  question  of  moving  farther  afield,  but 
possibly  my  experience  in  pioneering  can  be  turned  to 
account  in  still  further  widening  the  sphere  of  the  Congo 
Mission,  If  the  opportunity  offers,  I  shall  take  it  as  the 
Lord's  call,  and  do  my  best.' 

Appended  is  Mr.  Arthington's  letter,  to  which  Grenfell 
sent  a  reply,  the  purport  of  which  is  indicated  in  the  fore- 
going paragraphs. 

Leeds,  July  i,  1890. 

'My  dear  Sir, 

'  Excuse  pencil ;  I  can  write  better  with  it.  I 
am  much  concerned  and  interested  about  a  new  phase 
of  things  which  has  arisen  since  Stanley  completed  his 
mission  and  come  home  to  England.  I  see  that  the 
Aruwimi  or  Ituri  flows  from  a  point  near  to  the  south 
end  of  Lake  Albert.  I  think  that  the  time  has  come 
when  you,  or  some  one  quite  competent — but  I  should 
much  prefer  you — should  sail  in  the  "  Peace  "  as  far  as  is 
safe  up  the  Aruwimi,  and  then,  by  smaller  vessel,  boat 
or  native  craft,  go  as  far  up  the  stream  towards  Lake 
Albert  as  it  may  be  navigable.  I  seem  to  forget  to 
what  language  the  speech  used  on  the  Aruwimi  is  refer- 
able, and  how  far  up  stream  that  tongue  prevails,  but  I 
think  it  was  found  to  be  closely  allied  to  a  language  well 
known  to  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society.  In  my  opinion 
we  should  now  ascertain  the  full  and  exact  (as  nearly 
as  well  may  be)  extent  of  this,  and  also  what  speech 

u 


290  Movements  on  the  Upper  River 

prevails  on  the  upper  and  head  quarters  of  the  Aruwimi 
towards  the  Albert  Lake. 

'  If  you  have  faith  to  do  this,  with  the  blessed  vigour 
of  holy  hope  in  God,  I  should  be  exceedingly  rejoiced  to 
hear  from  you  to  say  so. 

'  Wishing  you  best  and  blessed  experiences, 
'  Yours  in  the  Lord, 

'Robert  Arthington.' 

Grenfell's  hope  that  a  second  forward  station  would 
be  founded  in  1890  was  realized  by  Messrs.  Weeks  and 
Stapleton,  who  left  Bolobo  in  the  'Peace'  on  July  11, 
discovered  an  available  site  at  Monsembe,  and  commenced 
building  and  missionary  operations  forthwith. 

Early  in  September  Grenfell  left  Bolobo,  and  passed 
down  river,  not  to  return  until  he  had  visited  England, 
under  conditions  which  will  be  described  in  the  following 
chapter. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE  SEIZURE  OF  THE  ^  PEACE/  AND 
THE  COMING  OF  THE  'GOODWILL' 

Seizure  of  the  'Peace'— Mr.  White's  Letter— Letters  of  Grenfell 
upon  the  Seizure — Firmness  of  Mr.  Forfeitt— Building  of  the 
*  Goodwill  '—Death  of  Mrs.  P.  Comber— Visit  of  the  King  of  the 
Belgians  to  England— Grenfell's  Review  of  the  Work — Progress 
of  the  Arabs — Receives  a  Belgian  Order— Bolobo  Towns 
Burnt— Launch  of  the  '  Goodwill.' 

IN  March,  1890,  the  State  authorities  sought  to 
impose  certain  conditions  and  restrictions  con- 
cerning the  use  of  steamers  on  the  Upper  Congo,  and 
wrote  requesting  Grenfell  to  apply  for  a  licence  to  run 
the  '  Peace.'  He  replied  that  as  the  *  Peace '  was  a 
British  registered  vessel,  and  the  Congo  an  international 
waterway,  according  to  the  Act  of  Berlin,  he  must  refer 
the  question  to  the  Committee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society  in  London.  He  did  so,  and  in  the  event  no 
application  was  made  for  permission  to  run  the  '  Peace ' 
on  the  Congo. 

Some  months  later  the  '  Peace '  was  seized  by  the 
Congo  State  Government,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
guns  and  soldiers  up  the  Kasai  on  a  war  expedition. 

Grenfell  records  that  'At  2  p.m.  on  Sunday,  August 
31,  a  small  steamer,  with  two  State  officers  and  twelve 
soldiers,  arrived  at  the  beach  of  the  Arthington  Station, 
Stanley  Pool,  and    ran  alongside   the    "  Peace."      The 


292    The  Seizure  of  the  *  Peace' 

officer  in  command  asked  Messrs.  White  and  Roger  if 
they  were  prepared  to  hand  the  "  Peace  "  over  to  the 
State  for  the  transport  of  soldiers  and  ammunition  up 
the  Kasai,  and  explained  that  in  case  of  non-compliance 
he  had  brought  a  captain  and  soldiers  to  take  her.' 

Mr.  White  proceeded  to  state  that,  in  pursuance  of 
previous  negotiations,  he  had  brought  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Grenfell,  offering  to  take  a  full  cargo  up  river,  on 
condition  that  it  did  not  consist  of  munitions  of  war. 

This  did  not  satisfy  the  officials.  Subsequently  it 
was  arranged  that  the  '  Peace '  should  start  at  once  for 
Bolobo,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  supplies  and  going 
into  dock ;  also,  that  she  should  without  fail  be  back 
again  at  the  Pool  by  September  15.  To  secure  the 
observance  of  this  promise,  Captain  Martini  was  put 
on  board,  with  power  to  immediately  seize  the  steamer 
in  the  name  of  the  State,  should  he  deem  it  needful  to 
do  so. 

On  the  evening  of  September  14,  the  'Peace'  was 
back  again  at  the  Pool,  bringing  Grenfell,  who  was 
determined,  if  possible,  to  prevent  the  threatened  seizure. 

Upon  arrival  at  Stanley  Pool,  Grenfell  wrote  to  the 
Commissaire,  expressing  the  hope  that  as  the  *  Ville  de 
Bruxelles '  was  now  at  Leopoldville,  the  *  Peace  '  would 
not  be  taken.  He  repeated  the  offer  to  carry  ordinary 
stores  for  the  State,  making  two  journeys,  if  necessary, 
on  condition  that  between  the  trips  one  journey  should 
be  made  for  the  Mission.  He  again  affirmed  that  he  had 
no  power  to  lend  the  '  Peace '  for  war  purposes. 

Concluding  his  record,  Grenfell  writes — 

'The  same  afternoon  (September  15,  when  an  official 
and  formal  requisition  was  handed  to  him  by  the  State) 
the  "  Peace "  steamed  up  river  to  Arthington  Station 
(from  Leopoldville),  and  put  me  on   shore  there,  and 


Flag  hauled  Down  293 

immediately  afterwards  a  steward  boy  was  sent  to  haul 
down  the  British  flag,  which  till  then  had  occupied  the 
place  of  honour,  and  the  act  of  seizure  was  complete.' 

Thereupon  Grenfell  sent  a  messenger  post  haste  down 
country  to  Underhill,  asking  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt,  the 
legal  representative  of  the  Mission,  to  send  the  following 
cablegram  to  England  : — 

'"Peace"  seized.  Flag  hauled  down.  Grenfell 
coming.' 

He  had  left  Bolobo  on  September  13,  prepared  to 
proceed  to  England  at  once,  should  the  State  carry  out 
the  threat  of  seizing  the  steamer  when  she  returned  to 
the  Pool. 

Accompanied  by  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt,  who  had  joined 
him  at  Underhill,  he  passed  down  river,  to  interview  the 
Governor  at  Boma.  Writing  to  Mr.  Baynes  from  Banana, 
on  October  28,  while  waiting  for  a  steamer  to  Europe,  he 
said,  '  As  Lawson  Forfeitt  and  I  were  on  our  way  down 
to  this  place,  we  called  on  the  Governor  General  at  Boma, 
and  receiving  an  invitation  to  dinner,  spent  a  very 
pleasant  evening.  He  was  very  agreeable,  but  scarcely 
succeeded  in  throwing  the  onus  of  the  seizure  of  the 
"  Peace  "  on  the  Pool  authorities.' 

On  September  16,  Mr.  White  wrote  to  Mr.  Baynes  : 
*  The  poor  "  Peace  "  is  in  the  hands  of  alien  masters.  .  .  . 
It  was  a  great  shock  to  Mr.  Grenfell,  the  news  we 
brought  him  to  Bolobo  that  Sunday  morning  of  the 
impending  fate  of  our  fine  little  craft.  You  know  his 
fond,  fatherlike  afifection  for  the  "  Peace,"  and  how  faith- 
fully he  has  kept  the  charge  you  entrusted  with  him  in 
our  pioneer  boat.  I  think  it  will  never  be  told,  to  be 
understood  by  you  at  home,  how  much  of  his  strong  life's 
best  energy  our  beloved  and  everywhere  respected  fellow- 
worker  has  bound  up  in  this  his  pet  and  pride.     "  They 


294    The  Seizure  of  the  'Peace' 

are,"  he  said,  "  taking  my  heart's  blood  in  taking  the 
'  Peace.'  The  best  thing  that  could  happen  to  the  poor 
'Peace,'  would  be  for  her  to  run  on  a  rock,  and  sink. 
She  will  be  no  more  the  old  '  Peace,'  when  they  have  done 
with  her.     White,  the  soul  has  gone  out  of  her ! " 

'  That  a  man  should  express  such  feeling  over  the  fate 
of  a  mere  machine  may  appear  strange  to  folks  at  home. 
But  we  on  the  Upper  Congo  know  full  well  that  the  very 
life  of  our  work  is  wrapped  up  in  the  life  of  our  little 
steamer,  still  the  pride  of  the  Upper  Congo  fleet.  And 
now  the  "  Peace  "  is  to  carry  the  terrible  maxim  gun  at 
her  bow,  its  nozzle  over  the  brazen  letters  PEACE  ! 
A  good  thing  the  poor  natives  of  the  Kasai  can't  read 
those  letters.  .  .  .  Within  five  minutes  of  my  telling  Mr. 
Grenfell  the  melancholy  news  of  the  "  Peace  "  being  re- 
quisitioned, he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  this :  "  If  they 
seize  the  '  Peace,'  I  go  to  England  and  agitate."  ' 

He  continues :  '  I  am  making  the  journey  in  a 
comical  capacity,  for  which  it  would  be  rather  hard  to 
find  a  name.  I  go  simply  because  certain  of  our  crew 
are  requisitioned  with  the  steamer.  I  must  admit  also 
a  certain  reluctance  to  leave  the  good  old  "  Peace." 
Who  could  help  having  a  certain  affection  for  a  boat 
like  this  ?  My  great  aim  is  to  try  and  keep  something 
of  the  pure  soul  of  the  "  Peace  "  from  annihilation.  I 
have,  as  employer  or  master  of  our  boys  for  the  time 
being,  a  grave  responsibility  towards  them,  and  I  clearly 
saw  it  was  my  duty  to  stay  with  them,  so  I  have  got 
myself  reckoned  amongst  the  "equipage"  of  the 
"  Peace,"  but  without  a  job  !  I  shall  find  employment, 
however,  in  making  notes,  and  may  be  useful  to  the 
steamer  in  saving  her  from  ill-usage,  and  in  having  an 
undefined  moral  charge  over  our  boys.  Mr.  Grenfell 
was  anxious  about  Francis  Steane  (a  Cameroons  youth), 


1.  NATIVE   OF  YAKUSU    DISTRICT. 

2.  CHIEF    OF    YAKUSU    AND    WIFE. 

3.  NATIVE   OF    BOPOTO. 


PILOT    OF   THE    S.S.    'PEACE.' 


Protest  to  the  Governor     295 

our  apprentice  engineer.  My  staying  on  board  has 
relieved  his  anxiety  in  part.  .  .  .  May  I  ask  your  prayers 
that  our  boys  may  be  kept  from  being  contaminated  by 
the  evil  influences  which  will  meet  them  on  this  journey  ? 
This  is  my  only  anxiety  at  the  present  moment.  It  will 
be  a  grief  indeed  if  evil  blast  the  fair  promise  that 
has  been  growing  more  and  more  distinct  as  I  have 
watched  for  signs  these  few  months.  I  shall  try  to 
send  Mr.  Grenfell  an  account  of  how  we  fare  and  what 

we  see.' 

While  Grenfell  was  waiting  for  a  steamer  the  Governor 
visited  Banana,  and  on  October  21,  Grenfell  had  a  further 
interview  with   him,  and   also  wrote  a  formal  protest 
against  the  seizure  of  the  'Peace,'  which  he  said  was 
'  a  duly  accredited  British  vessel,  and  thus  sailed  under 
the  flag  of  a  friendly  Power.'     He  also  complained  that 
'  the  flag  was  hauled  down  by  one  of  the  stewards,  at  the 
instance  of  the  ofiicer  placed  in  command ' ;  and  added, 
'  How  far  these  actions  are  in  accord  with  international 
usage  I  cannot  say  ;   but  considering  that  at  the  time 
the   "Peace"   left   Leopoldville   upon   the   mission   for 
which  she  was  requisitioned,  the  three   most  powerful 
vessels  possessed  by  the  State,  furnishing  four-fifths  of 
the  whole  of  its  carrying  resources,  were  lying  at  the 
Wharf,  it  is  difficult  to  recognize  the  necessity  of  the 
step,   and   in    the   name   of  our   Society,  I   beg,  most 
respectfully,  to  be  allowed  to  enter  my  protest.' 

On  the  next  day,  October  22,  Grenfell  wrote  the 
following  note  to  Lawson  Forfeitt:  'The  Governor  says 
that  it  was  in  error  that  the  British  flag  was  hauled 
down  on  board  the  "Peace"  without  any  formalities. 
He  writes  me  that  he  has  given  orders  for  the  flag  to  be 
hoisted  on  the  return  of  the  "  Peace,"  and  for  it  to  be 
saluted  by  the  State  flag,  and  a  troop  of  soldiers.     The 


296    The  Seizure  of  the  '  Peace ' 

"  Cabo  Verde  "  came  in  yesterday  at  one  o'clock.  We 
sail  at  nine  this  morning,  all  being  well. 

'  Once  more  adieu  ! ' 

The  cablegram  to  Mr.  Baynes  announcing  the  seizure 
of  the  '  Peace '  reached  the  Mission  House  on  October  31, 
and  on  the  same  day  he  telegraphed  to  Brussels,  to 
the  Administrator  General  of  the  Congo  State,  for 
information.  Receiving  no  reply,  he  wrote  asking  an 
explanation. 

On  November  2,  the  Administrator  General  tele- 
graphed :  '  We  have  no  intelligence  concerning  the 
seizure  of  your  steamer,  and  the  carrying  away  of  its 
flag  ; '  but  he  thought  it  might  have  been  demanded  in 
view  of  some  most  imperious  necessity  for  supplies.  He 
had  telegraphed  to  Congo  to  restore  the  steamer  as  soon 
as  humanly  possible,  and  offered  to  compensate  for  all 
losses. 

The  seizure  of  the  Mission  steamer  caused  excite- 
ment in  England  and  on  the  Continent.  Dutch  papers 
related  the  facts,  obtained,  no  doubt,  through  the  agent 
of  the  Dutch  Trading  Company  on  the  Congo.  In 
reference  to  the  statements  in  the  Dutch  press,  a  tele- 
gram was  despatched  from  Brussels  by  Reuter  to  the 
British  press,  declaring  that  no  steamer  had  been  seized, 
nor  had  any  flag  been  hauled  down  ;  that  the  services  of 
the  *  Peace  '  were  temporarily  requisitioned  for  urgent 
public  purposes,  and  that  an  indemnity  had  been  paid. 
It  also  declared  that  the  affair  was  amicably  arranged 
with  the  missionaries. 

Seeing  that  Grenfell  had  protested  strongly  against 
the  action  of  the  State,  and  that  he  was  then  on 
his  way  to  England,  Renter's  Brussels  telegram  was 
not  according  to  the  facts,  and  was  altogether  mis- 
leading. 


The  'Peace'  Palaver  Drag^s  297 

Grenfell  reached  England  in  December,  and  imme- 
diately laid  before  the  Missionary  Committee  a 
complete  statement  of  the  case. 

Writing  to  Lawson  Forfeitt  from  Sancreed,  on 
December  27,  where  he  had  gone  to  spend  Christmas, 
Grenfell  says  :  '  The  "  Peace  "  palaver  still  drags  on  its 
weary  length.  The  State  are  very  slow  to  reply.  They 
realize  the  delicacy  of  the  position,  we  think,  and  are 
cautious.  Highest  legal  opinion  reports  State  action  as 
2iltra  vires.  We  shall  come  out  of  it  all  right,  and 
with  definite  provisions  for  the  future,  I  believe.' 

He  adds  :  *  It  has  been  terribly  cold  since  my  arrival. 
I've  scarcely  been  anywhere  or  seen  any  one.  I'm  down 
here  for  Xmas.  Happily,  it  is  a  little  warmer  than  in 
London,  where  they  are  enduring  the  hardest  winter 
they  have  had  for  years.  Lots  of  fog,  frost  and  snow. 
Also  skating,  I'm  much  better  than  when  I  landed.  I 
trust  you  are  keeping  well.' 

Grenfell  wrote  to  White  in  January,  1891  :  '  Brussels, 
I  fancy,  very  much  wishes  the  "  Peace  "  had  never  been 
touched — the  long,  tedious  correspondence  still  drags  on 
the  latest  phase  being  a  straight  request  for  a  promise 
not  to  do  it  again.  The  amount  of  shuffling  and  squirm- 
ing on  the  part  of  Brussels  would  be  quite  amusing,  if 
it  were  not  so  vexatious.* 

Meanwhile  important  correspondence  was  proceed- 
ing between  the  Vice-Governor  and  the  Rev.  Lawson 
Forfeitt,  the  Secretary  of  the  Mission  on  the  Congo. 

Mr.  Forfeitt  at  this  time  was  a  very  young  man,  and 
a  newcomer  to  the  Congo.  Apparently  the  Governor 
imagined  that  it  would  be  quite  easy  to  rush  him  into 
the  acceptance  of  an  indemnity,  which  would  have  dis- 
concerted Grenfell's  plans,  and  permitted  a  cable  to 
Brussels   declaring  the   incident   closed.      But   he   had 


298    The  Seizure  of  the  *  Peace' 

under-estimated  the  mettle  of  the  young  secretary,  who 
countered  his  masterful  approaches  with  diplomatic  skill 
which  has  often  proved  of  greatest  value  to  the  Mission. 

On  December  21,  1890,  the  Vice-Governor  wrote  to 
Mr.  Forfeitt,  saying  that  the  '  Peace '  had  been  returned 
to  the  Mission,  and  the  British  flag  hoisted  again,  with 
all  due  military  honours.  He  expressed  his  desire  for 
a  friendly  settlement  of  the  affair  of  the  steamer,  and 
offered  an  indemnity  of  3500  francs  (;^I40)- 

Mr.  Forfeitt  acknowledged  this  letter,  and  expressed 
satisfaction  that  the  British  flag  had  been  formally  rein- 
stated on  the  '  Peace '  and  saluted  with  due  honour.  As 
to  the  offer  of  an  indemnity,  he  promised  to  forward  it 
at  once  to  the  Committee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society  in  London  for  instructions. 

On  January  17,  1891,  the  Vice-Governor  and  Mr. 
Forfeitt  were  both  at  Banana.  The  former  wrote  a 
further  letter  on  the  subject  of  an  indemnity,  as  he 
desired  to  close  the  matter  without  delay.  If  the 
amount  was  regarded  as  insufficient,  he  would  be  glad 
to  consider  any  proposal  from  Mr.  Forfeitt.  Otherwise 
the  matter  must  forthwith  be  referred  to  the  Courts  for 
decision,  under  Art.  15  of  the  decree  of  July,  1890,  on 
military  requisitions.  He  did  not  admit  that  such  a 
question  could  be  referred  to  a  Committee  of  Foreigners, 
i.e.  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  Committee  in  London. 

On  the  same  day  Mr.  Forfeitt  replied  to  the  Vice- 
Governor's  letter,  saying  he  regretted  to  be  unable  to 
comply  with  the  request  of  the  Vice-Governor,  and  that 
his  personal  feeling  was  that  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society  Committee  would  decline  to  accept  an  indemnity 
in  the  circumstances.  He  reminded  him  that  the  steamer 
was  employed  for  a  purpose  entirely  contrary  to  the 
principles  of  the  Mission,  and  also  that  our  missionaries 


Climbing  Down  299 

at  the  more  distant  stations  on  the  Upper  River  had 
been  placed  in  great  danger  through  lack  of  supplies. 

At  this  point  the  Vice-Governor  began  to  climb 
down,  replying  that  he  found,  after  all,  that  when  the 
steamer  was  taken,  the  date  for  putting  into  operation 
the  decree  of  July  i6,  1890,  had  not  yet  arrived,  and 
that  therefore  the  case  under  review  might  exceptionally 
be  referred  for  consideration  by  the  London  Committee 
of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society.  At  the  same  time 
he  expressed  regret,  if  any  missionaries  had  really  been 
subjected  to  privations,  and  said  that  if  they  had  only 
applied  to  the  nearest  State  station,  it  would  have  been 
happy  to  offer  assistance. 

In  the  course  of  his  letter  the  Vice-Governor  took 
occasion  to  remark  that  it  was  necessary  for  all  such 
Societies  as  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  to  obey  the 
law  {i.e.  to  accept  an  indemnity  without  delay). 

In  answer  to  this,  Mr.  Forfeitt  maintained  that,  the 
incident  having  already  become  the  subject  of  com- 
munications between  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society 
Committee  in  London,  and  the  Central  Government  in 
Brussels,  no  objection  could  properly  be  taken  to  the 
course  he  had  adopted. 

To  the  Vice-Governor's  slightly  scornful  reference 
to  the  possible  privations  of  the  missionaries,  and  the 
simple  means  by  which  they  might  have  been  avoided, 
Mr.  Forfeitt  was  able  to  make  rejoinder  as  caustic  as  it 
was  conclusive.  He  thanked  the  Vice-Governor  for  his 
kind  thought,  and  suggestion  that  the  missionaries  at 
Upoto  should  apply  to  the  nearest  State  station  for 
provisions,  but  feared  they  could  not  be  very  hopeful  of 
success,  seeing  that  the  State  officers  themselves  had 
quite  recently  applied  to  the  missionaries  for  pro- 
visions, which  the   latter  had  readily  given,  depending 


300    The  Seizure  of  the  '  Peace ' 

upon  the  *  Peace '  for  fresh  supplies  by  a  certain  date, 
which  the  seizure  of  the  vessel  by  the  State  had 
rendered  impossible. 

For  his  share  in  the  business  Mr.  Forfeitt  received 
the  formal  and  cordial  thanks  of  the  Committee,  and 
the  affectionate  and  enthusiastic  congratulations  of 
Grenfell,  who  was  delighted  by  the  success  of  his  young 
colleague,  with  whom  he  had  already  formed  a  close 
friendship,  which  was  maintained  until  the  end  of 
his  life. 

In  the  end,  the  indemnity  was  not  accepted,  satis- 
factory assurances  were  given  by  the  State,  and  there 
was  no  repetition  of  the  trouble. 

While  the  'Peace'  palaver  was  still  dragging  on, 
Grenfell's  mind  was  much  occupied  by  arrangements 
for  the  building  of  a  new  steamer,  which  the  seizure  of 
the  '  Peace,'  and  the  growth  of  the  Mission  had  rendered 
necessary  on  the  upper  river.  The  Committee  realized 
that  to  depend  upon  one  steamer,  several  years  old, 
which  would  shortly  require  serious  repairs,  would  be 
to  run  inexcusable  risks.  After  due  consideration  it 
was  determined  that  the  new  ship,  the  'Goodwill,' 
should  be  of  the  same  type  as  the  '  Peace,'  but  larger, 
swifter,  and  with  many  minor  improvements.  The 
contract  for  her  construction  was  entrusted  to  Messrs. 
Thorneycroft,  who  had  done  so  admirably  in  the 
building  of  the  '  Peace  '  ;  and  again  Grenfell  was  happily 
upon  the  spot,  to  render  invaluable  advice  and  direction, 
based  upon  his  unique  experience.  He  superintended 
the  building  of  the  '  Goodwill,'  he  was  present  at  her 
launch  upon  the  Thames,  he  helped  to  despatch  her,  in 
loads,  up  country  from  Underbill,  and  in  the  event  he 
did  large  part  of  her  re-construction  at  Bolobo,     But 


Captain  Thys  301 

though  the  '  Goodwill '  was  beyond  question  the 
superior  craft,  to  the  day  of  his  death  Grenfell  loved  the 
'  Peace '  best. 

He  spent  Christmas,  1890,  at  Sancreed.  In  the 
middle  of  January  he  was  in  London.  News  came  of 
Mrs.  Percy  Comber's  serious  illness,  which  depressed 
him.  The  weather  was  not  to  be  endured  ;  and  after 
two  days  of  it,  *  down-hearted  and  miserable,'  he  started 
off  to  his  brother's  at  Sutton  Coldfield. 

On  January  29  he  is  in  Bristol,  has  received  tidings 
of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Comber,  and  writes  to  Lawson 
Forfeitt :  *  The  sad  news  by  last  mail  has  cast  a  gloom 
over  me  that  I  cannot  shake  off.  It  did  not  reach  me 
till  several  days  after  I  had  your  letter,  telling  of  Percy 
and  his  wife  being  homeward-bound.  Poor  Percy! 
Many  hearts  have  followed  him  on  his  lonely  tramp 
back  to  Wathen,  and  many,  many  prayers  have  ascended 
on  his  behalf.  The  new  steamer  for  the  Congo  is  still 
"  in  the  air,"  though  I  feel  pretty  certain  the  Committee 
will  act  next  month,  and  give  me  the  authority  to  close 
with  one  or  other  of  the  offers  now  before  us.' 

Grenfell  had  voyaged  to  Europe  by  the  same 
steamer  as  Captain  Thys,  the  Chief  Director  of  Congo 
Railway  Company,  and  he  writes,  '  You  ask,  "  How  do 
you  like  Thys  ? "  I  reply  that  I  think  him  a  wonder- 
fully capable  man,  and  that  I  feel  drawn  towards  him. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  the  Briton  (I  take  it)  in  his 
character.  He  has  a  very  difficult  part  to  play,  and  I 
sympathize  very  sincerely  with  him.  I  don't  by  any 
means  endorse  all  his  views,  but  there  are  very  few  men 
whose  views  I  consider  so  enlightened.  If  we  had  a 
few  more  men  like  him,  it  would  be  all  the  better  for 
the  Congo.  .  .  . 

*  I  am  not  very  bright,  am  wretchedly  thin  (for  me), 


302    The  Seizure  of  the  'Peace' 

and  not  making  so  much  progress  as  I  would  like.  How- 
ever. I  have  no  fever,  and  have  much  to  be  thankful  for. 
I'm  doing  no  speaking  yet — don't  commence  till  April . . . 

'  I  hope,  my  dear  Lawson,  you  are  well  The  good 
Lord  long  keep  you  so.' 

On  February  9.  he  writes  from  19  Fumival  Street  to 
Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes.  of  Birmingham,  re  the  proposed 
new  steamer — 

'  The  Finance  Committee  meets  on  Thursday,  and  I 
bring  before  them  the  data  I  have  been  collecting  con- 
cerning the  proposed  new  steamer.  I  hope  it  will  be 
settled  without  a  lot  of  wearjnng  delay.  A  new  steamer 
means  quite  worn'  enough  for  me  without  having  a  lot 
of  "  red  tape  "  to  contend  with.  .  .  . 

*  I  am  fanc>-ing  that  I  feel  much  better,  and  hope  soon 
to  get  into  harness.  Nothing  will  be  more  pleasant  for 
me  than  to  talk  to  your  friends  about  the  Congo,  if  I 
only  feel  equal  to  it — but  I  must  not  make  promises  yet.' 

Again  he  writes  to  Mr.  Hawkes  from  London,  on 
February  26,  saying  the  Congo  mail  brings  *  good  news 
from  all  along  the  line  ; '  and  adds :  *  We  have  some 
little  anxiety  about  a  warlike  expedition  having  been 
sent  overland  from  the  Pool,  to  enforce  the  recognition 
by  the  natives  of  the  Congo  authorities.  The  State 
offered  us  a  guard  for  our  Bolobo  Station,  but  the 
missionaries  there  felt  they  would  be  safer  without  State 
protection,  and  I  think  so  too. 

'  P.S.  It  is  as  foggy  as  ever  here.' 

To  Mr.  Bavnes. 

Worthing,  March  11. 

*  I've  tried  to  persuade  Mrs.  B not  to  tell  you 

what  the  doctor  said  this  morning,  but  she  feels  she 
must,  and  so  I  just  i>en  a  line  or  two,  to  inform  you  that 


The  King's  Return 


303 


I'm  not  very  brilliant.  I  shall  ^^uniess  something  very- 
remarkable  happens)  be  able  to  keep  my  engagement 
with  Colonel  Griffin  on  Friday  evening.  You  need  not 
be  anxious.  I'm  taking  care.  Doctors  always  like  to 
magnify  their  vocation.' 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

London,  March  23. 

'I  quite  hoped,  up  till  Friday  evening  last,  that  I 
should  have  been  able  to  get  clear  of  London  before 
Easter,  but  I  find  I  shall  not  be  free  to  go  to  Birmingham 
till  the  close  of  next  week.  I  want  to  see  the  steamer  fairly 
under  way  before  I  leave,  and  also  the  new  map.  It  is 
astonishing  what  a  lot  of  time  these  things  involve.  .  .  . 

*  Yes,  indeed  !  Africa's  charms  get  more  attractive  to 
me  day  by  day.  I  fanc\'  the  King  of  the  Belgians  has 
not  had  a  very  pleasant  visit.  He  came  over,  as  you  will 
have  learned  from  the  papers,  on  Congo  State  business. 
The  said  business,  I  fear,  has  not  been  ver>^  successful, 
for  he  packed  up  in  a  hurrj-,  and  went  back  a  week 
earlier  than  he  intended.  I  fancy  that  a  long  article  in 
Friday's  Tiynes  had  something  to  do  with  it  an  article 
that  originated  in  a  conversation  I  had  with  Sir  Fowell 
Buxton  last  week.  I  am  to  have  an  interview  with  Sir 
William  Mackinnon  to-morrow.  These  things  take  lots 
of  time,  yet  they  must  be  attended  to.' 

The  Societ>-'s  report  presented  to  the  annual  meeting 
in  April,  1 89 1,  incorporates  a  review  of  the  work  upon 
the  Congo,  written  by  GrenfelL  He  commences  with  a 
touching  reference  to  the  death  of  Mrs.  Percy  Comber, 
briefly  notes  the  advances  that  have  been  made  toward 
the  centre  of  the  continent  and  expresses  the  hope  that 
Messrs.  Darby  and  White  will  shortly  be  founding  a  new 
station  near  the  Lubi  Falls. 


304    The  Seizure  of  the  'Peace' 

'  The  progress  of  events  seems  to  indicate  that  this 
will  ere  long  be  one  of  the  most  important  centres  of 
the  continent — it  is  only  fifty  hours'  march  from  the 
stations  of  the  Soudanese  Arabs  on  the  Welle  river,  and 
is  apparently  destined  to  be  the  point  upon  which 
caravans,  with  a  view  to  the  rapid  and  safe  communica- 
tion with  the  civilized  world,  will  concentrate  from 
Gordon's  lost  provinces. 

'  Having  moved,  stage  by  stage,  thus  far,  we  are 
within  striking  distance  of  the  object  proposed  by  that 
generous  friend  of  Missions,  Mr.  Robert  Arthington, 
when  he  gave  our  society  splendid  donations  for  the 
formation  of  a  line  of  stations  along  the  Aruwimi  valley 
towards  Lake  Albert.  It  is  hoped  that  the  time  will 
speedily  come  when  the  funds  will  be  provided,  and  the 
unsettled  state  of  the  natives,  reported  by  Mr.  Stanley, 
will  have  given  place  to  confidence,  and  have  resulted  in 
the  re-forming  of  their  abandoned  towns.  With  a  view 
to  obtaining  information  as  to  the  present  prospects  of 
the  Aruwimi  route,  it  is  proposed  that  the  steamer 
"  Peace  "  make  an  early  voyage  to  reconnoitre,  so  far  as 
the  river  may  offer  facilities  for  so  doing. 

'  But  on  the  Aruwimi  and  Loika  we  shall  enter  upon 
a  new  phase  of  work,  for  we  shall  be  in  contact  with  the 
East  Coast  Arabs,  who  are  steadily  pushing  their  way 
north-westwards  to  the  country  occupied  by  their  co- 
religionists of  the  Soudan  ;  in  fact,  their  advanced  guards 
have  already  met.  Islam  from  the  south-east  is  already 
in  touch  with  Islam  from  the  north,  and  the  poor  natives 
are  thus,  as  it  were,  between  the  upper  and  nether  mill- 
stones. In  entering  upon  this  region  Christian  Missions 
will  have  to  face  the  fanaticism  of  partially  enlightened 
believers  in  God,  as  well  as  the  heathenism  of  ignorant 
and  demoralized  men.     But,  however  arduous  the  task 


A  Visit  to  Brussels  305 

may  threaten  to  be,  we  are  full  of  hope  and  confidence ; 
we  have  not  entered  upon  the  contest  at  our  own  charges, 
and  if  we  find  ourselves  on  the  threshold  of  great  diffi- 
culties, they  are  not  of  our  own  seeking  ;  our  trust  is  in 
Him  in  Whose  name  we  have  been  sent  forth.' 

The  measure  of  progress  recorded  at  the  several 
stations  of  the  Mission  is  then  discussed  ;  but  space- 
limits  forbid  further  quotation. 

Early  in  April,  Grenfell  received  from  Captain  Thys 
an  invitation  to  Brussels,  to  discuss  a  proposal  to  estab- 
lish a  regular  service  of  steamers,  at  fixed  dates,  upon 
the  Upper  Congo.  The  invitation  was  accepted,  and 
during  his  visit  Grenfell  '  had  the  honour  of  an  interview 
with  his  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Belgians  and  Sovereign 
of  the  Congo  State.  His  Majesty,  on  that  occasion, 
took  the  opportunity  of  conferring  upon  Mr.  Grenfell 
the  insignia  of  "  Chevalier  of  the  Order  of  Leopold,"  "  in 
recognition  of  services  rendered  in  opening  up  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Congo  State,  and  of  efforts  made  towards 
ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  peoples  subject  to  his 
Majesty's  rule." ' 

At  the  beginning  of  May,  he  was  to  have  addressed 
a  meeting  in  Birmingham,  but  on  April  30  he  writes 
from  the  house  of  Mr.  W.  R.  Rickett,  the  revered  and 
munificent  Treasurer  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society, 
reporting  himself  unwell,  and  unable  to  travel.  He 
has  arranged  with  Mr.  Darby  to  take  his  place,  and 
says — 

'The  friends  in  Birmingham  will  profit  by  the  ex- 
change, for  Darby  is  a  capital  speaker.  He  is  a  clever 
fellow,  and  has  a  wondrous  kindly  heart.  I  think  you 
will  enjoy  his  company  :  I'm  sure  the  children  will,  for 
he's  full  of  stories. 

'  I'm  better  than  I  was,  though  I've  only  been  out  of 

X 


3o6    The  Seizure  of  the  'Peace' 

my  room  twice  since  Saturday.     Friends  won't  hear  of 
my  going  outside  the  house  for  some  days  yet. 

*  Did  I  tell  you  that  the  whole  of  the  Bolobo  towns 
have  been  burned  down  by  the  State.?  Great  distress 
among  the  people.' 

As  the  summer  began  to  wane,  Grenfell  went  down  to 
Sancreed  for  a  holiday,  and  on  August  13  wrote  to  Mr. 
Baynes — 

•  I  go  to  London  for  the  launch  of  the  "  Goodwill " 
on  the  2 1st.  The  steamer  will  not  be  quite  finished  on 
that  date  ;  but  as  the  tide  suits,  the  opportunity  will  be 
taken  to  put  her  in  the  water.  .  .  .  The  time  between 
the  2 1st  inst.  and  the  8th  prox.  will  be  devoted  to  pre- 
liminary trials,  and  to  getting  things  into  "ship -shape" 
for  the  view.' 

The  launch  was  successful,  and  at  the  time  appointed 
the  '  Goodwill '  was  on  view  at  Westminster.  Numbers 
of  the  friends  of  the  Mission  inspected  her  at  her  moor- 
ings, and  many  took  passage  to  Chiswick  and  back,  so 
making  practical  acquaintance  with  the  powers  of  the 
little  ship,  whose  fortunes  they  would  follow  with  prayer- 
ful interest,  as  she  justified  her  name,  by  bearing  the 
tidings  of  the  Herald  Angels  to  the  warring  tribes  of 
Central  Africa. 


CHAPTER    XIV 
THE  LUNDA  EXPEDITION 

Asked  to  join  a  Belgian  Commission — Financial  Arrangements— 
Grenfell's  Embarkation— A  Terrific  Storm— Ministry  of  •  Mamma 
Hartland  '—Landing  at  Matadi— The  Start— Tungwa— Stopped 
by  War — Tenders  his  Resignation — Work  of  Steane — Declara- 
tion of  Peace— Food  Supply  Difficulties — The  Rainy  Season — 
The  Highlands— Swamps— A  Plague  of  Flies— The  Small-pox 
— The  Return  Journey— On  Livingstone's  Path — At  Loanda — 
Death  of  Mrs,  Cameron  —A  Grand  Reception. 

UPON  the  completion  of  the  arrangements  for  the 
launch  of  the  '  Goodwill,'  Grenfell  went  down  to 
Sancreed,  to  spend  a  holiday  with  his  mother  amid 
scenes  that  were  dear  to  him  from  earliest  days.  The 
weather  was  piteously  wet,  and  he  was  busy  making 
the  best  of  it,  when  a  letter  was  forwarded  to  him  from 
the  Mission  House,  which  was  destined  to  affect  his  life 
so  seriously  for  the  next  two  years,  that  it  may  well  be 
reproduced  here. 

Bruxelles,  August  13,  1891. 
'Dear  Grenfell, 

'As  you  perhaps  know,  the  frontier  of  the 
Lunda  ought  now  to  be  settled  with  Portugal,  and  in 
order  to  do  this  the  Portuguese  Lt.-Colonel  Sebastiao 
de  Souza  Dantas  Baracho  is  already  there. 

'  Knowing   as    I   do   your  great   knowledge  of  the 


3o8       The  Lunda  Expedition 

country,  and  the  interest  you  have  always  kindly  taken 
in  the  prosperity  of  the  Congo,  may  I  reckon  upon  you 
to  represent  the  Congo  State  in  this. matter,  placing  as  I 
do  the  greatest  confidence  in  your  judgment  ? 

'  I  send  you  this  proposal  by  direction  of  the  King, 
who  would  be  very  grateful  to  you. 

'I  should  be  much  obliged  to  you  if  you  kindly  would 
write  me  a  word  about  this  matter  as  soon  as  possible, 
for  we  are  in  a  great  hurry. 

*  Of  course,  if  you  agree,  as  I  hope,  with  this  Com- 
mission you  will  receive  to  accomplish  it  the  most 
complete  requirements,  and  you  will  be  called  to 
Brussels  for  that  purpose. 

'  Yours  kindly, 

*  LlEBRECIITS.' 

Immediately  Grenfell  wrote  to  Mr.  Baynes  as 
follows : — 

'  I  have  just  received  the  enclosed.  In  acknow- 
ledging its  receipt  I  have  said  :  "  I  am  unable  to  pro- 
nounce upon  this  proposal,  apart  from  the  Committee 
of  our  Society.  Personally  I  should  be  greatly  gratified 
if  I  might  accept  the  honour  of  the  appointment  his 
Majesty  has  been  good  enough  to  suggest.  I  am 
sending  your  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes,  and  am  asking  him 
to  telegraph  to  me,  so  that  I  may  be  able  to  send  a 
formal  reply  by  the  earliest  possible  date." 

'  I  understand  the  proposal  as  a  request  for  me  to  act 
as  a  member  of  a  delimitation  Commission  to  fix  the 
boundaries  between  the  Congo  State  and  the  Portuguese 
possessions  lying  between  the  rivers  Kwango  and  Kasai 
— but  of  this  I  am  not  quite  sure.  The  disputed  terri- 
tory lies  between  those  points,  and  if  the  matter  is  as  I 
suppose,   it  would  take  some  three  months  to  go  and 


Inclined  to  Go  309 

return  from  San  Salvador — which  I  expect  would  be  the 
starting-point.  The  frontier,  after  reaching  the  Kwango, 
lies  a  little  south  of  east  of  San  Salvador. 

'  I  think  the  whole  thing  might  be  managed  during 
the  time  the  "  Goodwill "  is  being  sent  up  country,  and 
without  in  any  way  delaying  her  transport  or  completion. 
It  would  involve  my  leaving  England  somewhat  earlier 
than  I  expected,  but  as  I  have  completed  my  second 
term  of  rest,  as  advised  by  Dr.  Roberts,  I  think  it  could 
be  done  without  prejudice  to  my  health.  In  fact,  if  it 
were  needful,  I  have  no  doubt  it  would  be  possible  to 
arrange  for  a  short  visit  to  England  before  returning 
to  the  Upper  River,  without  expense  to  the  Com- 
mittee. It  would  not  mean  more  than  three  months' 
delay  in  my  reaching  Bolobo  if  I  did  not  return  to 
England. 

'  I  shall  be  very  sorry  to  stay  away  from  Bolobo, 
even  three  months  more  than  is  absolutely  necessary. 
I  should  much  like  to  see  the  Lunda  country,  and  the 
experience  might  be  useful  to  us  in  working  eastward 
from  San  Salvador,  but  I  cannot  urge  that  the  proposal 
has  any  direct  bearing  upon  our  work.  I  should  like  to 
accept  the  proposal  the  King  has  made,  but  I  want  to 
do  my  duty  before  even  pleasing  the  King.  Is  it  the 
Lord  showing  us  a  way  inland  from  San  Salvador  ?  I 
am  in  the  hands  of  the  Committee.' 

Mr.  Baynes  telegraphed  a  reply  in  the  following 
terms  :  '  Must  await  Committee's  decision  on  September 
14.  Cannot  undertake  to  settle  the  matter  myself. 
Advise  this  to  Brussels.' 

Replying,  on  August  1 3,  to  a  letter  from  Mr.  Baynes, 
Grenfell  reports  that  he  has  written  to  Brussels,  in- 
timating that  no  decision  can  be  given  until  the  meeting 
of  the  Committee,  and  assuming,  in  view  of  the  urgency 


3IO       The  Lunda  Expedition 

of  the  affair,  that  this  inevitable  delay  will  rule  him  out. 
He  agrees  with  Mr.  Baynes  that  such  a  question  must 
needs  be  settled  '  on  the  ground  of  principle.'  The  work 
is  work  which  he  could  do,  and  would  like  to  do  ;  but 
he  would  not  undertake  it  unless  the  Committee  decidedly 
favoured  the  project.  The  impracticable  delay,  however, 
makes  such  discussion  merely  academic. 

Three  days  later  he  forwards  to  Mr.  Baynes  another 
letter  from  the  Secretary-General,  who  says :  *  The 
Government  of  the  Independent  State  of  the  Congo, 
knowing  how  much  it  may  reckon  upon  you,  will  wait 
for  your  Committee's  decision,  and  is  very  anxious  to 
hear  about  it.  It  hopes  you  will  be  allowed  to  undertake 
that  commission  of  peace  which  the  King  intends  to 
offer  you.  Your  Committee,  the  King  hopes,  will  see 
by  that  offer  a  right  homage  paid  to  the  high  and  best 
qualities  of  one  of  its  missionaries.' 

Under  date  September  2  the  Secretary  writes  again, 
enclosing  a  copy  of  the  agreement  between  the  Congo 
Free  State  and  Portugal,  upon  the  basis  of  which  the 
proposed  delimitation  is  to  be  effected,  and  promising 
the  supply  of  all  necessary  means  to  accelerate  the 
accomplishment  of  the  Commission. 

Six  days  later  he  writes  again  an  autograph  letter, 
intimating  that  the  questions  '  principally  to  be  dealt 
with  in  the  delimitation  of  the  Lunda  are  those  arising 
out  of  the  claims  of  native  chiefs,  whose  districts  lie 
between  the  Kwango  and  the  Kasai.*  He  also  states 
that  a  Belgian  officer,  probably  Lieutenant  Gorin,  who 
is  on  the  Lower  Congo,  and  '  knows  about  taking  observa- 
tions,' will  be  appointed  as  Grenfell's  colleague.  In 
forwarding  this  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes,  Grenfell  writes  : 
'  I  wonder  if  the  officer  is  to  act  under  me,  or  to  be  my 
superior.     The  former  will  be  strange,   and  the  latter, 


Remunepation  3 1 1 

for  me,  an  impossible  condition.  I  must  be  absolutely 
independent  and  free,  if  I  go,' 

The  Committee's  assent  was  given,  and  duly  com- 
municated to  Brussels.  The  Secretary-General  acknow- 
ledged this  in  a  most  cordial  letter,  and  invited  Grenfell 
to  proceed  to  Brussels  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

Grenfell  wrote  to  Mr.  Baynes  from  Brussels  on 
September  25  :  *  I  have  seen  Mr.  Eettvelde,  Minister  of 
the  Interior,  and  satisfactorily  arranged  all  preliminaries 
with  him.  He  proposed  that  I  should  be  the  Chief  of 
the  Commission  and  that  the  officer,  while  able  to  give 
his  advice,  should  in  all  things  defer  to  me.  He  says 
definite  instructions  will  be  prepared  on  these  lines.  A 
bodyguard  will  be  sent,  but  it  is  strictly  defensive,  and 
will  in  no  case  engage  in  warlike  operations  unless  to 
defend  our  lives — but  this  seems  to  be  a  very  remote 
contingency.  He  looks  very  favourably  upon  Mrs. 
Grenfell  accompanying  me — in  fact,  sees  nothing  against 
it,  if  it  is  only  agreeable  to  ourselves. 

*I  see  the  King  to-morrow  at  11,30  a.m. 

'  I  was  asked  as  to  my  ideas  in  the  matter  of 
remuneration.  I  referred  them  to  you — telling  them 
I  had  certain  expenses  in  England  to  meet  on  account 
of  my  children,  and  also  that  I  expected  to  be  provided 
for  comfortably  on  the  journey,  and  also  telling  them 
that  our  Committee  met  these  expenses  in  such  a  way 
as  to  free  me  from  all  anxiety.' 

On  these  simple  lines  the  financial  matter  was 
arranged.  The  Committee  thus  gave  their  agent 
leave  of  absence  to  serve  the  Congo  State,  upon 
a  commission  that  promised  to  make  for  peace  and 
goodwill  among  men ;  and  the  State,  while  using  him, 
paid  his  expenses  upon  the  modest  scale  to  which  he 
had  been  accustomed.     It  accorded  with  the  principles 


312       The  Lunda  Expedition 

of  both  Grenfell  and  his  Committee  that  the  service 
should  not  be  a  profit-making  business.  And  in  the 
end,  when  the  Mission  whicli  proved  so  much  more 
arduous,  perilous  and  protracted  than  was  anticipated, 
had  been  successfully  performed,  neither  Grenfell  nor 
his  Society  was  a  penny  the  better  for  the  work. 

Of  course,  this  magnanimity  was  appreciated  by  the 
Free  State  authorities,  who  were  well  pleased  to  find 
that  no  more  was  required  of  them  than  '  to  relieve  your 
Committee  of  the  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  Mr.  Grenfell 
during  the  period  occupied  by  the  Mission.' 

On  September  26  Grenfell  writes  to  his  friend  Mr. 
Joseph  Hawkes :  '  I  have  had  an  hour  with  the  King 
to-day,  and  it  is  all  settled  that  I  am  to  undertake  the 
proposed  mission.  All  being  well,  we  leave  Antwerp 
for  the  Congo  on  November  6.  I  expect  the  work  will 
require  nearly  six  months.  I  shall  need  your  prayers 
just  as  much  as  ever.' 

He  reached  Antwerp  on  November  5,  and  proceeded 
immediately  to  Brussels  for  final  instructions,  which 
were  duly  received,  signed  by  the  King.  He  found  also 
awaiting  him  an  invitation  to  dine  with  their  Majesties 
the  King  and  Queen.  Writing  to  Mr.  Baynes  from 
*  s.s.  "  Akassa,"  off  Flushing,'  the  next  day,  he  says,  '  I 
am  named  "Plenipotentiary,"  to  distinguish  me  from 
my  Belgian  colleague.  The  King  was  very  gracious, 
and  alluded  very  nicely  to  the  disinterestedness  of  our 
Society  and  myself,  referring,  I  took  it,  to  the  fact  that 
we  are  not  saddling  the  Congo  Government  with  heavy 
expenses  ;  though  of  course  he  did  not  speak  directly  of 
money  matters — a  King  can  hardly  do  so.  We  have 
had  very  fine  weather,  and  it  still  promises  well.' 

Grenfell's  embarkation  had  been  hurried.  In  a  brief 
note  to  Mr.   Hawkes,  under  same  date,  he  writes,   *  I 


A  Perilous  Voyag^e  313 

am  leaving  by  steamer  sailing  at  lo  a.m.  It  is  now 
8.55,  and  I  have  yet  two  more  letters  to  write,  my  bag 
to  pack,  and  a  drive  of  twenty  minutes.*  There  follows 
mention  in  a  sentence  or  two  of  his  visit  to  Brussels, 
title  of  *  Plenipotentiary,'  dinner  with  the  King,  and 
then  this  brief  characteristic  reflection :  *  Am  I  not 
getting  vain  in  my  old  age  to  tell  you  such  tattle,  when 
time  is  so  short  ? '  Trivialities  dismissed,  the  letter  goes 
on  to  deal  with  matters  of  importance,  including  the 
payment  of  'a  sum  of  six  shillings  or  so  due  for 
breakages.' 

The  promise  of  fair  weather  mentioned  above  proved 
delusive.  The  '  Akassa,'  some  few  days  out,  encountered 
a  terrific  storm.  *  For  nearly  a  week  we  did  not  change 
our  clothes,  nor  were  we  able  to  dry  our  beds,  which 
had  been  soaked  by  the  bursting  of  one  of  the  ports.' 
The  captain  became  so  ill  that  he  was  incapacitated, 
and  had  to  relinquish  his  post  at  Grand  Canary, 
where  the  steamer  was  delayed  three  days  while  another 
captain  was  secured.  So  grave  was  the  case,  in  the 
height  of  the  storm,  that  the  order  was  given  to  take  to 
the  boats.  But  happily  that  desperate  expedient  was 
averted.  *  Had  it  come  to  taking  the  boats,'  Grenfell 
writes,  *  we  should  have  fared  badly,  for  the  biggest  life- 
boat was  stove  in,  and  the  rest  could  not  have  held  half 
of  us.  Once  more  the  Lord  has  been  very  good  to  us, 
and  for  this  among  His  many  favours  let  His  name  be 
praised.' 

To  those  who  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  as 
simply  and  practically  as  Grenfell  did,  the  following 
extract  from  a  letter  addressed,  two  months  later,  to 
'  Mamma  Hartland '  will  be  of  peculiar  interest :  '  You 
refer  to  the  storm  of  November  lo  and  ii.  We  felt  the 
full  fury  of  it,  and  for  a  time  were  in  a  very  critical 


314       The  Lunda  Expedition 

condition.  .  .  .  We  felt  sure  that  many  prayers  were 
being  offered  for  us.  Our  God  was  with  us  through  it 
all,  and  our  hearts  were  stayed  on  Him.' 

To  those  acquainted  with  the  facts  these  sentences 
will  recall  the  figure  of  an  elderly  lady,  living  in  a 
modest  home  in  Kentish  Town,  whose  activities  were 
restricted  by  suffering,  but  whose  spiritual  influence  was 
felt  all  along  the  line  of  the  Congo  Mission.  She  filled 
the  void  in  her  heart  occasioned  by  her  son's  death  by 
adopting  the  Mission  in  which  he  died.  Toward  every 
man  and  woman  engaged  in  it  her  affections  went  out 
with  motherly  solicitude,  which  secured  a  filial  return  ; 
and  in  many  an  hour  of  storm  and  stress  the  tired  and 
suffering  missionary  on  the  Congo  has  turned  with  grate- 
ful and  inspiring  remembrance  to  *  Mamma  Hartland,' 
whose  intercession  would  never  fail  while  life  remained, 
and  who  wrote  slowly,  with  pain-distorted  fingers,  letters 
that  were  fraught  with  the  very  comfort  of  God. 

The  perilous  voyage  was  finished  in  safety  on 
December  8,  when  Grenfell  landed  at  Matadi,  two  miles 
beyond  the  dep6t  station  at  Underhill.  And  these  last 
two  miles  meant  struggle  for  the  steamer.  The  current, 
always  strong  at  that  point,  was  at  its  strongest,  and  the 
good  ship  '  Akassa '  was  an  hour  forging  past  the  rush. 
Indeed,  in  one  half-hour's  steaming  she  simply  held  her 
own,  and  advanced  not  a  single  yard. 

Grenfell  was  delighted  to  receive  satisfactory  tidings 
of  the  Mission — '  everybody  reported  well  or  nearly  so 
all  along  the  line.'  He  notes  that  things  are  running 
smoothly  at  the  Underhill  Station,  and  that  though 
direct  shipment  to  Matadi  will  add  somewhat  to  its 
burdens,  this  new  arrangement  will  be  a  great  boon  to 
the  Mission  as  a  whole. 

*  Transhipment  at  Banana  is  not  very  expensive,  but 


The  *  Great  Hurry'  315 

involves  tedious  delays,  and  also  considerable  loss  by 
pilfering  and  damage  on  board  the  river  craft.  Injustice 
to  the  Dutch  House,  it  must  be  said  they  make  good 
any  loss  that  may  be  pointed  out  to  them  at  the  time  of 
delivery,  but  it  often  occurs  that  the  loss  is  not  dis- 
covered till  afterwards.'  He  also  reports  that  the  railway 
labour  question  is  an  increasingly  serious  one,  and  that 
progress  in  consequence  is  very  slow.  *  Some  200  Sierra 
Leone  men  tried  to  force  their  way  on  board  the 
"Akassa,"  so  that  they  might  return  to  their  own 
country.  They  were  repelled  by  soldiers,  but  the  dis- 
satisfaction is  by  no  means  at  an  end.' 

When  Grenfell  was  first  approached  anent  the  Lunda 
Expedition,  he  was  informed  that  the  authorities  were 

*  in  a  great  hurry.'  The  unconscious  irony  of  that  state- 
ment was  now  apparent.  Arriving  at  Underhill,  keen 
to  begin  the  big  business,  he  learned  from  the  Governor- 
General  that  nothing  had  been  heard  concerning  the 
movements  of  the  Portuguese  Commissioner,  and  that 

*  as  there  are  no  hotels  on  the  Kwango,'  it  would  be 
expedient  for  Grenfell  to  remain  at  Underhill,  rather 
than  hurry  off  to  wait  indefinitely  in  the  wilds.  So  he 
begins  the  long  spell  of  waiting  which  extends  to  five 
months  ;  for  it  is  not  until  May  10  that  he  and  his 
colleagues  are  enabled  to  start  upon  their  journey,  to 
meet  the  Portuguese  section  of  the  expedition  at  the 
distant  rendezvous. 

Weeks  elapsed  before  it  was  possible  to  secure  direct 
communication  with  the  Portuguese  Commissioner. 
Then  it  appeared  that  his  delimitation  of  the  Lower 
Congo,  which  was  to  precede  the  Lunda  task,  had  not  been 
commenced.  However,  he  had  been  apprised  by  the 
Governor  of  the  Portuguese  Congo  that  the  rains  were 
falling  in  that  region  '  with  intense  furiosity,'  and  that 


3i6       The  Lunda  Expedition 

it  would  not  be  possible  to  commence  field  work  there 
until  the  end  of  April. 

At  first,  and  for  a  while,  the  delay  was  not  entirely 
unwelcome  to  Grenfell.  It  enabled  him  to  superintend 
the  discharge  of  the  '  Goodwill,'  and  to  get  the  loads 
ready  for  the  road.  It  gave  him  the  joy  of  welcoming 
colleagues  upon  arrival.  It  secured  him  leisure  to  lie 
up  for  three  weeks  with  fever,  which  indeed  he  might 
have  escaped,  had  he  passed  on  into  healthier  regions. 
On  February  ii,  he  notes  that  he  has  had  more  fever 
during  the  few  weeks  of  his  stay  at  Underhill  than  he 
had  during  his  last  term  in  Africa. 

Many  other  matters  of  greater  or  lesser  importance 
called  for  his  attention,  and  secured  it.  But  Bolobo  was 
upon  his  heart,  and  after  two  months'  waiting  he  went 
down  to  Boma,  and  requested  the  Governor-General  to 
grant  him  three  months'  leave,  that  he  might  visit  Bolobo, 
and  return  for  final  instructions.  This  the  Governor- 
General  could  not  arrange,  and  Grenfell,  growing  restive, 
wished  to  resign  the  commission  and  get  back  to  his  own 
work.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  seemed  right  that  he 
should  go  through  with  his  task  ;  and  he  learned,  at  the 
end  of  March,  that  the  dilatory  Portuguese  Commissioner 
had  been  relieved  of  duty,  and  another  appointed,  who 
was  in  the  field  at  no  great  distance  from  the  point  at 
which  the  actual  work  of  delimitation  would  commence. 

The  following  letter  must  have  been  written  with 
a  sigh  of  vast  relief. 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Underhill,  April  12,  1892. 

*  I  have  at  last  received  definite  instructions  to 
proceed  with  the  work  of  the  Lunda  Commission,  and 
all  being  well  we  shall  leave  this  place  on  the  2ist  inst. 


The  Start  Imminent         317 

'The  meeting-place  for  the  joint  Commission  is 
about  550  miles  inland,  and  the  date  fixed  for  our 
assembling  there  is  July  20.  This  allows  ample  time, 
and  if  we  only  get  over  the  remaining  portion  of  the 
journey  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  per  diem,  we  ought  to 
finish  it,  and  be  at  the  State  Station  of  Luebo,  in  21° 
20"  E.  long,  by  the  end  of  October,  or  early  in  November. 
Seeing  that  steamers  run  frequently  between  Luebo  and 
Stanley  Pool,  and  the  voyage  down  stream  is  only  a 
matter  of  some  ten  or  twelve  days,  we  hope  to  be  back 
at  Bolobo  by  the  end  of  the  year.  Of  course,  in  under- 
taking such  a  journey  in  Africa,  one  has  to  be  prepared 
for  all  sorts  of  eventualities,  as  well  as  for  delay,  but  I  am 
hopeful  that  with  God's  good  favour  we  may  get  through 
both  safely  and  soon. 

•  Mr.  Ernest  Hughes  arrived  nine  days  ago  ;  carriers  are 
here  ready  to  take  him  up  country,  and  he  is  arranging 
to  start  to-morrow.  Unless  there  are  developments  on 
the  upper  river  of  which  as  yet  we  know  nothing,  he 
will  proceed  to  Monsembe,  and  get  into  harness  ready 
for  Stapleton's  home-going.  This  will  give  three  men 
to  each  of  our  farthest  stations,  but  gives  us  no  colleague 
for  Darby  when  he  goes  forward  to  his  new  station. 
Darby  is  now  at  Bolobo,  and  will  probably  stay  there 
till  I  return.  I  am  very  glad  he  is  able  to  be  there 
while  I  am  away. 

'  Our  course  to  the  Kwango  lies  two  days  south  of 
Wathen,  but  I  am  hoping  to  make  a  detour,  and  to  write 
you  again  from  that  place. 

'  The  whole  of  the  hull  of  the  **  Goodwill  "  is  now  on 
its  way  up  country.' 

On  May  7  Grenfell  was  still  at  Underbill,  waiting  for 
carriers.  He  writes :  '  Unhappily,  the  date  for  com- 
mencing the  work  of  the  joint  Commission  has   been 


3i8       The  Lunda  Expedition 

deferred  till  September  ;  but  the  Governor  of  Angola, 
in  writing  to  me,  says  he  hopes  that  with  goodwill,  and 
*  a  little  extra  diligence,  the  delay  will  be  more  than 
compensated  for.' 

On  May  lo  the  long- desired  start  was  made.  For 
the  detailed  account  of  this  great  journey,  upon  which 
Grenfell  set  out  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Grenfell,  and  his 
Belgian  colleague ;  for  the  report  of  his  scientific 
observations  ;  for  the  intensely  interesting  story  of  the 
hostility  of  the  Kiamvo,  Muene  Puto  Kasongo,  ulti- 
mately overcome  ;  and  of  Grenfell's  reception  by  the 
vanquished  tyrant,  to  whom  he  preached  the  Gospel, — I 
must  refer  my  readers  to  the  pages  of  Sir  Harry 
Johnston.  I  submit  selected  passages  from  letters 
written  at  various  points,  which  may  convey  some  idea 
of  the  arduousness  and  importance  of  the  task  which 
Grenfell  had  undertaken,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  it 
was  accomplished. 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Ntumba  Maui,  Congo  State,  July  8. 

'We  managed  to  get  away  from  Underbill  on 
May  10,  and  since  that  time  have  spent  thirty-seven 
days  in  marching  ;  the  rest  have  been  spent  at  various 
points  where  we  have  been  delayed.  We  are  not  at  the 
farthest  point  we  have  reached,  for  after  making  five 
marches  beyond  this  place  we  found  the  way  was  not 
clear,  and  so  returned  to  this  Station  of  the  Congo 
State,  and  expect  to  remain  here  some  weeks.  An 
advance  party  leaves  in  a  few  days,  and  will  make  its 
way  to  Popocabaca,  and,  if  all  goes  well,  will  arrange 
for  our  following  as  soon  as  possible. 

'  In  our  journeying  we  have  taken  things  as  easily  as 
possible,  and  with  so  long  a  journey  before  us  have  not 


Blankets  and  Fires  319 

made  anything  like  forced  marches,  our  longest  being 
seven  or  eight  hours,  and  shortest  not  half  so  long. 

'  We  are  now  on  an  elevated  tableland  nearly  3,000 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  have  it  comparatively  cold 
morning  and  evening,  the  thermometer  going  down  at 
times  as  low  as  53°.  We  are  consequently  very  glad  of 
blankets  by  night,  and  wool  clothes  by  day.  Camp 
fires  are  quite  an  institution,  and  sometimes  they  are 
kept  up  till  well  on  into  the  day,  if  we  are  staying  at  a 
place. 

'  We  are  among  the  people  on  the  border-land  of  the 
cattle  and  india  rubber  district ;  we  were  well  within 
the  border  when  we  turned  back.  The  people  there  are 
given  up  very  largely  to  collecting  rubber,  and  neglect 
their  plantations,  and  we  thus  found  it  difficult  to  get 
food  for  our  large  caravan,  for  although  we  could  get 
beef  for  ourselves  it  was  impossible  to  feed  our  hundred 
men  or  more  on  beef  alone. 

'  On  our  journey  hither  we  passed  very  close  to 
Tungwa,  where  Comber  and  I  were  turned  back  in 
1878.  I  was  sadly  tempted  to  turn  aside  and  pay  the 
old  place  a  visit.  We  camped  all  night  in  the  place  where 
Comber  was  shot.  The  people  are  very  friendly  now, 
and  would  be  very  glad  if  we  would  send  a  teacher. 
The  whole  country  between  that  point  and  where  we  are 
now  is  very  populous  and  fruitful,  and  would  make  a 
splendid  field  for  a  Mission.  More  towards  the  east  the 
country  becomes  very  sandy,  and  is  but  thinly  peopled  ; 
in  fact,  one  part  of  our  journey  is  through  almost  a 
desert  for  about  eight  days,  and  I  am  sending  for  thirty 
loads  of  "chop,"  to  help  us  in  getting  through  it. 

*  In  the  sandy  country  the  streams  are  at  the  bottoms 
of  steep  valleys  of  six  to  eight  hundred  feet,  and  a  day's 
journey  apart.     Hereabouts,  on  the  contrary,  there  is 


320       The  Lunda  Expedition 

too  much  water — yesterday  we  crossed  fifteen  streams, 
some  of  them  with  muddy  swampy  banks  very  difficult 
for  my  ass,  especially  when  I  am  on  her  back.  One 
day  she  sat  down  in  the  mud  three  different  times,  and 
I  had  to  walk  through  to  the  other  side,  and  to  await 
her  pleasure  to  follow  me.  One  day  I  thought  she 
would  never  get  through  at  all,  for  she  sank  into  it 
almost  up  to  her  shoulders.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Ntumba  Mani,  July  8. 

*At  this  point  we  are  25  marches  inland  from 
Matadi,  and  still  have  12  marches  between  us  and  the 
Kwango.  Of  these  twelve  we  covered  four,  and  then, 
on  account  of  the  war  between  Muene  Puto  Kasongo 
and  the  State,  having  arrived  within  six  hours  of  the 
boundary  of  the  hostile  district,  and  being  unable  to 
secure  a  native  escort,  we  returned,  to  await  further 
developments. 

'  Upon  reaching  our  farthest  point,  and  finding 
how  matters  stood,  I  wrote  to  the  Governor  General, 
advising  him  of  our  being  about  to  return,  and  also  to 
this  effect :  "  Circumstances  are  so  entirely  changed  from 
what  they  were  when  I  undertook  to  act  on  this  Com- 
mission, that  I  feel  the  State  will  be  better  served  by 
my  withdrawal  from  it,  and  by  the  appointment  of  a 
military  officer  in  my  place.  I  am  hoping,  therefore, 
that  the  authority  for  the  delegation  of  my  powers,  for 
which  I  believe  you  have  already  applied,  may  soon 
arrive,  and  that  I  may  have  your  permission  to  transfer 
them  to  my  colleague,  or  other  officer  whom  you  may 
indicate." 

*  On  my  arrival  at  Lukunga  I  heard  of  this  war,  and 
immediately  wrote  to  the  Governor  General,  asking  for 


Resig'nation  Tendered       321 

his  instructions,  in  case  we  found  the  way  barred  ;  and 
these  instructions  I  found  awaiting  me  on  my  return 
yesterday.  They  are  to  the  effect  that  my  colleague  is 
to  move  forward,  and,  if  needful,  force  his  way,  and 
arrange  with  the  Commissaire  of  the  district  at  Popo- 
cabaca,  for  my  reaching  the  rendezvous  by  the  appointed 
time.  Till  the  Governor-General  has  had  time  to 
make  the  needful  arrangements  for  relieving  me,  and 
so  long  as  the  original  stipulations  are  complied  with, 
I  feel  I  cannot  refuse  to  proceed,  even  though  there 
is  a  probability  of  the  work  being  prolonged  for  a 
few  months  beyond  the  expected  time.  It  would  be 
a  very  serious  matter  for  me  to  withdraw  at  the  present 
juncture. 

*  Even  though  the  way  is  so  cleared  as  to  allow  me 
to  proceed,  the  work,  on  account  of  the  complications 
that  have  arisen,  will  be  far  more  arduous  than  I  sup- 
posed. However,  that  the  work  should  be  done  as  a 
missionary  should  do  it,  is  perhaps  a  good  reason  for  my 
not  forcing  the  hand  of  the  Governor.  Personally,  I 
would  much  rather  return  to  Bolobo  and  to  my  work ; 
but  as  I  have  not  chosen  my  present  position  for  myself, 
I  feel  I  must  not  act  precipitately,  but  prayerfully  strive 
to  find  where  duty  leads. 

'  I  must  confess  I  scarcely  expect  the  Governor- 
General  will  accept  my  resignation,  yet  I  should  be 
immensely  relieved  if  he  would  only  do  so.  He  must 
consider  himself  greatly  hampered  by  having  at  the  head 
of  this  Commission  a  man  who  refuses  to  fight  his  way 
to  the  meeting-place,  and  my  writing  as  I  have  done 
may  suggest  a  very  acceptable  way  out  of  an  embarrass- 
ing situation. 

*  My  wife  is  with  me,  and  joins  in  sincerest  regards.' 


322      The  Lunda  Expedition 

To  Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes. 

Ntumba  Mani,  August  ir. 

*  Still  waiting  for  the  horizon  to  clear !  We  have 
been  living  in  tents  for  about  three  months,  and  are  only 
fifteen  miles  east  of  Stanley  Pool — latitude  same  as  that 
of  Underhill.  We  have  been  five  marches  to  the  east- 
ward of  this  point,  but,  finding  further  progress  barred, 
came  back,  and  arranged  for  the  building  of  a  post  at 
the  place  whence  we  retraced  our  steps.  This  is  now  in 
course  of  erection,  and  when  finished  will  serve  as  a  base 
for  further  operations  eastward. 

'If  all  goes  well,  we  hope  to  move  forward  again 
in  a  fortnight  or   so ;   but    in  Africa    "  time  does   not 
count."    It  brings  its  grey  hours  notwithstanding.     Every 
possible   effort   is   being  made  by  the  Government  to 
pacify  the  country,  and  money  is  being  spent  at  a  great 
rate  to  secure  the  success  of  our  Mission  and  an  open 
route  to  the  frontier.     I  have  asked  for  a  hundred  more 
porters,  so  as  to  hasten  matters,  more  food  and  more  cloth, 
and  everything  is  granted  at  once— yet  things  go  slowly. 
'  It  is  said  that  all  things  come  to  those  who  wait — 
and  if  there  is  one  thing  I  have  learned  in  Africa,  it  is, 
how  to  "  wait."     "  Most  true,  my  dilatory  brother,"  you 
will  say,  when  you  think  of  my  promise  to  "  write  up  " 
the  slides  I  left  with  you,  and  when  you  count  up  the 
sixteen  sheets  I  now  enclose.     Joseph,  my  dear  boy,  you 
must  forgive  me,  and  try  to  believe  it  is  not  altogether 
dilatoriness  that  has  prevented  me   from   keeping   my 
promise.     Camp  life  is  full  of  unconsidered  hindrances, 
and  the  business  of  this  Expedition  and  our  Mission  are 
constant  drains  upon  my  time  for  working  and  thinking. 
I  am  very  glad  that  as  yet  I  am  not  cut  off  from  Baptist 
Missionary  Society  correspondence,  for,  owing   to   the 


Seven  Marches  Eastward    323 

good  service  of  couriers  we  have  to  maintain  with  the 
seat  of  Government,  I  am  within  comparatively  easy 
communication  with  Underhill  and  the  Mission  generally. 
'The  "Goodwill"  transport,  after  a  long  period  of 
inactivity,  I  am  glad  to  learn,  is  marching  more  satis- 
factorily, and  the  scores  of  loads  that  were  abandoned 
along  the  route,  in  consequence  of  an  intertribal  fight, 
are  being  got  together  and  gradually  delivered  at  the  Pool. 
The  reports  concerning  health,  and  the  progress  of  the 
work  are  encouraging.  I  therefore  thank  God,  and  go  on 
"  waiting  "  and  hoping  for  my  return  to  the  upper  river.' 


To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Panga  Nlele  (5°  50'  S.  lat.,  16°  20'  E.  long.),  September  6. 

'  Since  writing  you  last  we  have  made  seven  marches 
eastward,  and  are  now  occupying  the  new  post  that  has 
been  formed  at  this  place,  and  waiting  while  our  loads 
are  being  transported  to  the  Kwango,  four  or  five  marches 
farther  on.  Our  advance  guard  has  already  made  a 
successful  journey  to  the  Kwango,  and  the  second 
caravan  is  now  halfway  thither.  Everything  is  tranquil, 
but  progress  is  very  slow.  We  scarcely  expect  to  move 
forward  till  the  end  of  the  month.  By  that  time,  if  all 
goes  well,  there  will  be  three  boats  on  the  river,  and  we 
shall  in  that  case  make  use  of  them  for  the  next  200 
miles  of  our  journey. 

•  In  a  recent  letter  I  told  you  of  my  having  tendered 
my  resignation  to  the  Governor-General,  and  asked  that 
when  the  authority  to  delegate  my  powers  should  arrive 
that  he  would  indicate  my  successor  on  the  Commission. 
As  yet  I  have  received  no  authority  to  delegate  my 
powers,  but  I  have  received  a  request  from  the  Governor- 
General  that  I  should  retain  the  Commission  confided 


324       The  Lunda  Expedition 

to  me  by  the  King,  notwithstanding  the  unfortunate 
delays  that  have  occurred,  and  carry  the  work  through  to 
the  hoped-for  satisfactory  conclusion.  To  this  I  have 
replied,  stating  that  I  took  upon  myself  to  promise  to 
serve  till  the  present  difficulty  on  the  Kwango  was 
settled,  but  that  apart  from  my  Committee  I  could  not 
promise  to  await  the  settlement  of  future  difficulties  that 
might  possibly  arise.  When  this  present  difficulty  is 
settled,  and  everything  seems  fair  for  an  early  and 
satisfactory  solution,  I  can  scarcely  imagine  another 
serious  delay  ;  and  yet  in  Africa  so  many  things  are 
possible,  and  the  unexpected  so  often  happens,  that  I 
cannot  do  more  than  very  sincerely  hope  that  we  may 
be  free  to  commence  the  work  of  delimitation  in 
November.     Once  commenced,  three  or  four  months  of 

hard  work  should  complete  the  task,  and  leave  me  free 

to  get  back  to  Bolobo  and  my  colleagues. 

*  I  am  delighted  to  hear  of  the  splendid  Centennial 

meetings  and  to  learn  of  the  success  of  the  "  Fund."     It 

is  very  cheering  to  hear  of  Dr.  Webb  coming  to  the 

Congo — may  others  speedily  follow.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Panga  Nlele,  September  i8. 

'  The  first  of  the  tornadoes  broke  on  us  quite  suddenly 
three  day  ago,  blew  down  several  of  the  tents  in  the 
camp,  drove  the  cook  out  of  his  extemporized  kitchen, 
and  spoiled  our  dinner.  The  dry  season  is  now  at  an 
end,  and  we  shall  have  all  the  inconveniences  of  travelling 
in  the  rains.  Happily,  we  are  keeping  well — knocking 
about  agrees  with  us,  apparently. 

'When  I  wrote  you  last  we  were  up  in  the  Congo 
highlands ;  we  are  now  down  in  the  valley  of  the 
Kwango,   and    in    the    normal    Congo   climate.      The 


A  very  Hungary  Country    325 

minimum  temperature  of  70°  is  far  more  agreeable  to 
my  mind,  than  the  50°  we  had  on  the  hills. 

*A  day  or  two  after  our  arrival  at  this  place  the 
natives  in  the  neighbouring  villages  all  ran  away  into  the 
forest,  and  it  was  not  till  some  three  or  four  days  later 
that  we  could  so  convince  them  of  our  kindly  intentions 
as  to  induce  them  to  come  back.  They  are,  however, 
friendly  enough  now,  and  are  carrying  our  loads.  But 
food  is  still  dear  ;  it  costs  more  here  than  I  have  ever 
paid  before  for  rationing  our  men — nearly  6d.  a  day  for 
bread-stuffs  alone,  and  that  in  Africa,  and  so  far  from 
the  coast,  is  a  very  serious  matter. 

'We  are  glad  to  get  the  news  about  the  children's 
holidays — they  were  so  busy  enjoying  themselves  they 
did  not  write  us  many  particulars.  We  can  well  imagine 
"  dear  Auntie  Lizzie  "  trotting  along  in  the  snow  with  a 
party  of  four,  and  the  sympathy  she  would  get  when  she 
fell  down.  We  were  very  sorry  you  ventured  out  in  such 
weather.  With  your  throat  and  chest  so  sensitive,  it 
was  no  small  risk.  Fortunately  for  you,  the  results  were 
no  worse.' 

To  THE  Rev.  J.  J.  Fuller. 

Popocabaca,  October  24. 

*  Our  last  reports  from  the  upper  river  speak  of  the 
"  Goodwill "  as  being  nearly  all  at  the  Pool,  and  of  the 
prospect  of  its  being  at  Bolobo  during  the  present 
month ;  in  that  case  she  may  be  afloat  by  the  time 
I  return.  Bungudi  is  at  Bolobo  preparing  for  the 
"  Goodwill."  Francis  Steane  is  with  us  on  this  journey, 
and  as  usual  is  my  right-hand  man.  Just  now  we  are  in 
a  very  hungry  country,  no  meat  or  fish  (we  have  but 
very  few  tins  with  us),  unless  we  catch  it,  and  Francis  is 
our  great  hunter  and  fisherman.  This  work  is  less 
dignified,  perhaps,  but  is  not  less  important  than  his  help 


3^6       The  Lunda  Expedition 

with  my  observations.  He  gets  my  instruments  ready, 
and  takes  time  with  the  chronometer  as  I  take  the 
altitudes.  Last  week  he  was  patching  boats  damaged 
by  hippopotamus'  teeth  ;  to-day  he  is  mending  his  cast- 
net — so  you  see  he  has  to  turn  his  hand  to  all  sorts  of 
things.  Luckily  for  me,  he  has  both  the  ability  and  the 
will  to  do  it.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Popocabaca,  November  5. 

'  After  waiting  here  for  a  month  we  have  just  received 
news  of  the  complete  submission  of  the  Chief,  Muene 
Puto  Kasongo,  and  the  declaration  of  peace.  The 
1200  armed  men  who  attended  the  Chief  manifested  the 
most  lively  satisfaction  when  the  rite  of  blood-brother- 
hood sealed  the  compact,  and  were  evidently  very  glad 
of  the  prospect  of  quieter  times  than  they  have  been 
having  for  the  past  eight  months. 

'  After  the  Arab  authority,  but  not  a  whit  less  cruel 
or  despotic,  that  of  Muene  Puto  Kasongo  was  the  next 
most  powerful  within  the  limits  of  the  Congo  State  ; 
and,  if  the  terms  of  the  present  peace  can  only  be  main- 
tained— and  I  am  very  sanguine  of  it — immense  benefits 
will  accrue  to  the  population  of  an  area  of  some  20,000 
square  miles,  who  hitherto  have  been  subject  to  raids, 
systematically  arranged  at  the  capital,  for  the  levying  of 
blackmail  and  the  capture  of  slaves. 

'  When  I  wrote  you  last  it  was  intended  that  our 
Commission  should  join  the  expedition  to  Kasongo 
under  the  Commissaire  of  the  district,  but  it  was  after- 
wards determined  that  we  should  wait  at  this  point  till 
the  way  was  quite  clear.  The  news  to  hand  enabled  us 
to  send  off  more  than  200  of  our  loads  this  morning, 
and  on  the  7th  we  follow  in  the  three  boats,  with  the 
remainder  of  our  men  and  baggage.     We  propose  to 


Neap  the  Rendezvous        327 

join  the  land  caravan  at  a  point  some  200  miles  south, 
where  the  river  ceases  (practically)  to  be  navigable. 

'  Unless  other  obstacles  interpose  we  ought,  even  with 
a  very  moderate  rate  of  progress,  to  finish  the  work  of 
delimitation  in  February,  and  be  back  here  in  March. 
At  one  time  we  thought  of  returning  by  way  of  the 
Kasai  river,  but  taking  into  consideration  the  un- 
certainty of  meeting  a  steamer  within  a  reasonable  time, 
and  the  difficulty  of  travelling  in  canoes  at  high  water, 
as  it  will  be  when  we  reach  the  Kasai,  we  have  deter- 
mined to  make  the  return  journey  by  land  also — a 
programme  which,  if  carried  out,  will  involve  a  further 
eleven  or  twelve  hundred  miles. 

'  I  trust,  my  dear  Mr.  Baynes,  that  the  month  of 
April  will  find  us  back  at  Bolobo,  and  I  shall  indeed  be 
glad  when  the  time  comes  for  me  to  report  my  arrival 
there.  You  may  depend  upon  my  doing  my  utmost  to 
avoid  the  further  loss  of  a  single  day.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Franz  Joseph  Falls,  Kwango  River 
(7°  35'  50"  S.  lat.),  December  3. 

*  We  have  just  finished  our  twenty  days'  boat  journey, 
and  are  encamped  close  to  the  Falls  preparatory  to 
moving  forward  overland.  The  boats  return  in  a  day  or 
two,  and  I  take  the  opportunity  of  writing  a  note,  for  it 
is  somewhat  uncertain  when  we  may  get  another  chance, 

'  We  are  now  twenty-five  miles  north  of  our  meeting- 
place  with  the  Portuguese.  From  the  natives  we  learn  the 
Commissioners  spent  some  considerable  time  at  Nguri 
a  Nkama,  twenty-five  miles  south  of  the  rendezvous,  but 
that  they  have  now  retired  to  Kapenda  Camulemba,  a 
degree  farther  away.  By  this  time,  however,  they  should 
be  in  receipt,  via  Boma  and  Loanda,  of  the  news  of  our 


328      The  Lunda  Expedition 

delay,  and  of  the  new  appointment  we  made  for  a  later 
date,  an  appointment  that  was  accepted  by  the  Loanda 
authorities.  They  could  hardly  do  other  than  accept, 
seeing  they  kept  us  waiting  so  long  in  the  early  part  of 
the  year.  The  Commissioners  should  now  be  on  their 
way  to  the  frontier  again,  and  in  that  case  we  may 
expect  to  meet  them  in  a  few  days'  time. 

'  Our  land  caravan  is  already  at  the  frontier,  having 
left  us  five  days  ago,  and  by  this  time  will  have 
messengers  on  their  way  to  the  Portuguese  stations  to 
the  south,  telling  of  our  arrival.  In  a  day  or  two  I  am 
expecting  150  of  the  carriers  here  to  take  us  and  the 
cargo  brought  in  the  boats  to  the  frontier. 

'We  are  over  350  altogether,  and  feeding  so  many 
has  been  a  very  serious  task,  especially  in  the  desert 
country,  which  extends  five  days  north  of  this  place. 
Happily,  we  on  the  river  have  caught  plenty  of  fish,  and 
have  killed  two  hippopotami,  and  thus  been  able  to 
furnish  the  land  party  with  "beef."  Wild  pineapples, 
palm-nuts,  etc.,  have  to  take  the  place  of  "kwanga" 
(our  breadstuff), 

'  We  are  in  the  thick  of  the  rainy  season,  and  every 
day  brings  its  downpour.  We  are  having  lots  of  trouble 
in  drying  our  soaked  belongings  in  the  interval  of  sun- 
shine. These,  however,  are  small  matters.  We  are 
nearing  the  commencement  of  our  work,  and  Bolobo 
looms  much  more  vividly  in  view.' 

Ultimately  Grenfell  joined  forces  with  the  Portuguese 
Expedition  toward  the  end  of  December,  'at  Kasongo 
Luamba,  to  the  south  of  the  Tungila,'  and  proceeded 
eastward  upon  the  actual  business  which  had  involved 
such  prolonged  and  perilous  preliminary  toils.  Yet 
severer  troubles  awaited  him,  as  following  letters  will 
reveal. 


The  Lunda  Hig'hlands       329 

To  Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes. 

Luchiko  River  (7°  23'  S.  lat.,  20°  E.  long.),  March  12,  1893. 

'  Some  of  the  Portuguese  carriers,  their  loads  having 
been  used  up  eji  route,  are  being  sent  back  to  the  coast, 
and  so,  by  the  same  occasion,  I  send  you  a  note,  that 
you  may  know  we  are  still  pushing  our  way  eastward. 
We  have,  however,  been  so  delayed  by  hunger  and 
sickness  that  our  barter  goods  will  not  hold  out  for  the 
return  journey,  and  therefore,  as  soon  as  we  have  finished 
the  delimitation,  we  shall  strike  for  the  nearest  station 
on  the  Congo  waterway,  Luebo.  To  the  Kasai,  where 
the  work  of  the  Commission  terminates,  will  involve 
some  fifteen  marches  ;  thence  to  Luebo  another  fifteen, 
after  that  a  week  or  ten  days  by  steamer,  to  drop  down 
to  Stanley  Pool — that  is,  if  we  are  fortunate  enough  to 
light  upon  a  steamer  in  reasonable  time  ;  if  not,  we  may 
be  driven  to  making  our  own  canoes  and  paddling  them 
into  port. 

*  Our  condition  has  been  such  that  we  have  only  been 
able  to  make  eight  marches  since  the  24th  ult.  Happily 
things  are  mending  with  us,  and  we  are  hopeful  of  being 
able  to  make  much  better  progress  during  the  coming 
month. 

*We  have  been  in  the  Lunda  highlands,  about  the 
height  of  Snowdon,  for  some  weeks  past,  and  have  just 
descended  into  the  valley  of  Luchiko — a  drop  of  about  a 
thousand  feet.  The  country  is  more  fertile,  and  our  men 
are  greatly  better  for  the  change.  These  "  highlands  " 
are  not  like  the  "  highlands "  of  Scotland,  rocky  and 
mountainous,  but  the  very  reverse,  being  wide  sandy 
plains  separated  by  wide  shallow  swampy  valleys,  not 
more  than  fifty  or  a  hundred  feet  below  the  general  level. 

'  The  swamps  have  been  a  great  trouble  to  us — one 
mile  of  swamp  meaning  a  couple  of  hours  of  wading 


330       The  Lunda  Expedition 

through  mud  and  water,  sometimes  up  to  one's  waist. 
One  of  the  last  was  one  of  the  worst.  We  managed  to 
get  across  by  shortly  after  noon,  but  six  of  the  oxen  and 
the  three  mules  were  still  three  hundred  yards  from  terra 
firma  when  night  fell,  and  torrents  of  rain  also,  and  they 
had  to  be  left  till  morning.  We  scarcely  expected  to  find 
them  all  alive.  The  oxen  kept  up  a  very  melancholy 
lowing  all  night,  and  by  morning  were  so  weak  they 
submitted  to  being  lifted  out  of  the  mud,  and  having 
their  legs  tied  together,  and  to  being  dragged  along 
bodily  over  the  surface  of  the  swamp.  The  mules  were 
literally  carried  in  a  kind  of  hammock  slung  under  their 
bodies.  One  of  the  oxen  had  found  a  sort  of  island,  or 
patch  of  hard  ground,  and  taken  possession  of  it,  and 
could  not  be  persuaded  to  move.  It  came  across  the 
swamp,  however,  in  the  shape  of  beef,  to  the  amenable 
condition  of  which  it  was  reduced  by  the  very  emphatic 
argument  of  a  rifle  bullet.  With  this  exception  every- 
thing got  safely  across  by  i  o'clock  ;  but  a  day  was  lost, 
for  oxen,  mules,  and  men  were  all  too  tired  to  think  of 
an  afternoon  march. 

'  Coming  down  into  the  valley  here  was  made 
memorable  by  passing  through  one  of  those  belts  of  fly- 
country  where  life  becomes  almost  a  burden.  Happily, 
in  a  couple  of  hours  we  had  it  behind  us,  and  could 
breathe  freely  and  think  of  something  else.  The  flies 
are  miserable  little  black  creatures  only  half  the  size  of 
house  flies,  that  go  straight  for  one's  eyes  and  ears  and 
nose,  and  get  among  the  roots  of  one's  hair.  With  one 
hand  brandishing  a  wisp  of  grass  or  bunch  of  leaves,  you 
try  to  keep  them  clear  of  your  face  ;  but  they  come  in 
such  swarms  that  some  of  them  are  sure  to  get  past,  and 
the  other  hand  is  kept  busy  searching  for  them  in  your 
ears,  your  eyes,  or  among  your  hair.     They  are  stupid 


A   WRESTLING   MATCH,   BOPOTO. 
Photo:  Rev.  Win.  Forfeitt. 


[Photo:  G.  Grenfell. 
CROSSING   KWILU    RIVER,   LUNDA   EXPEDITION. 


Stapvation  and  Smallpox    331 

creatures,  and  don't  take  the  trouble  to  get  out  of  the 
way,  a  single  pat  of  one's  hand  or  blow  with  the  flapper 
will  sometimes  kill  as  many  as  twenty.  They  don't 
seem  to  mind  being  killed  a  bit,  and  are  not  at  all  like 
the  cute  specimens  you  get  in  civilized  countries.  I  can 
sympathize  with  the  Egyptians— a  plague  of  flies  is  no 

joke. 

'  But,  after  all,  flies  and  swamps  are  small  matters,  as 
you  will  realize  one  day,  when  I  tell  you  the  story  of 
this  journey.  Happily,  all  has  gone  well  with  the 
natives,  and  the  work  of  the  Commission  progresses,  I 
trust,  satisfactorily.  Our  poor  carriers,  however,  are 
suffering  very  severely,  starvation  and  smallpox  having 
killed  quite  a  number  of  them. 

•  If  our  work  is  carried  out  to  a  successful  issue,  it 
will  be  some  small  recompense ;  but  I  shall  be  very 
slow  to  undertake  a  similar  commission. 

'  Patience  joins  me  in  affectionate  greetings  to  you  all. 

*  The  fly  experience  and  the  swamp  episode  will  do 
for  the  children's  share  of  this  letter.  But  there  is  no 
moral  (as  I  think  I  have  observed  before)  to  my  yarns  ; 
they  won't  mind  that,  however.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Quilo  River  (19°  40'  E.  long.,  7°  45'  S.  lat.),  April  9. 

'Since  writing  you  last  all  our  plans  have  been 
changed,  and  we  are  now  on  our  way  back  by  a  route 
a  little  to  the  south  of  that  by  which  we  came. 

'Though  we  failed  to  reach  the  Kasai  by  some 
ten  marches,  we  have  been  able  to  carry  the  work  of 
delimitation  to  such  an  issue  as  we  hope  will  prove  a 
satisfactory  settlement  to  the  Governments  concerned. 

'  We  have  an  epidemic  of  smallpox  among  our  men, 
and  have  lost  heavily.     It  is  a  terrible  scourge  when  one 


332       The  Lunda  Expedition 

is  well  placed  for  combatting  it,  but  in  a  big  caravan 
like  ours  and  en  route  it  is  infinitely  worse. 

'Our  difficulties  have  been  very  great,  but  happily 
we  have  been  able  to  keep  clear  of  fighting.  We  have 
a  long  and  trying  march  still  to  make  (some  seven 
hundred  miles),  and  under  more  trying  conditions  than 
those  which  obtained  when  we  set  out — but  God  is 
good.* 

The  return  journey  was  perilous  and  distressful. 
Grenfell's  plans  were  again  altered  by  native  wars  and 
famine.  Having  sent  his  Congo  carriers  and  some 
sick  men  northwards  along  the  Kwango  to  Stanley  Pool, 
he  himself  started  off  with  the  Belgian  and  Portuguese 
officers  for  the  Kwanza  River  and  St.  Paul  de  Loanda. 

One  incident  related  by  Mrs.  Grenfell  will  be  of 
interest  to  the  reader.  At  a  certain  point  they  struck 
the  track  of  Livingstone,  but  could  not  follow  it  because 
of  the  hostility  of  natives.  Calling  his  wife,  Grenfell 
walked  with  her  up  and  down,  saying,  *  I  did  not  think 
I  should  ever  tread  the  path  Livingstone  trod.* 

The  last  reach  of  the  great  journey  was  covered  in 
comfort  by  rail,  the  Portuguese  Governor-General 
having  sent  a  special  train  to  Dondo,  to  convey  Grenfell 
and  his  party  to  Loanda. 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Loanda,  June  23. 

*  We  safely  reached  this  point  on  the  i6th,  and  hope 
to  get  the  final  delimitation  documents  into  shape,  and 
signed,  so  as  to  allow  of  our  reaching  Boma  by  the  end 
of  the  month. 

'  During  our  stay  here  we  are  the  guests  of  the 
Governor-General  of  Angola.  .  .  . 


Reception  at  Loanda        333 

'I  am  rather  oppressed  by  being  such  a  "dis- 
tinguished" guest,  and  shall  be  very  glad  to  get  into 
the  quieter  atmosphere  of  Underhill.  Though  I  suppose 
this  is  very  ungrateful  of  me,  considering  the  kindness 
of  the  Governor  and  the  officials,  who  are  doing  every- 
thing possible  to  make  us  feel  at  home.  .  .  . 

'On  my  arrival  here  the  Consul  (Mr.  Pickersgill, 
whom  I  believe  you  know)  handed  me  a  letter  from 
Lawson  Forfeitt,  containing  an  outline  of  the  present 
disposition  of  our  Congo  staff,  and  the  news  of  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Cameron.  We  sympathize  very  sincerely  with 
Mr.  Cameron,  and  realize  very  vividly  the  great  loss 
the  mission  has  sustained.  .  .  .' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Underhill,  July  12. 

*  State  affairs  will  keep  me  employed  till  the  end 
of  the  month,  so  you  will  please  draw  the  allowance  the 
Brussels  authorities  make  up  till  the  end  of  July.  .  .  . 

'The  Portuguese  gave  us  a  grand  reception  at 
Loanda.  We  had  apartments  in  the  palace  of  the 
Governor,  who  invited  company  almost  every  day  to 
do  us  honour.  We  had  a  carriage  and  pair  at  our 
disposal,  and  when  the  time  came  for  us  to  leave, 
the  Governor  himself  took  us  on  board  a  gun-boat  in 
his  state  barge,  and  handed  us  over  to  the  care  of 
the  Admiral,  who  in  his  turn  handed  us  over  to  the 
captain  of  the  gun-boat,  with  instructions  to  take  us 
to  Boma.  I  have  never  been  made  so  much  fuss  of 
in  my  life,  and  never  shall  be  again,  I  suppose.  How- 
ever, that  is  rather  a  relief,  for  I'm  not  to  the  "  manner 
born."  ... 

'  I  am  glad  to  say  that  the  delimitation  arrangements 
commend  themselves  to  Governor  Wahis,  who  is  more 
than  content." 


CHAPTER   XV 
BOLOBO  AND  YAKUSU— 1893  to  1896 

Disappointments — Material  Progress  at  Bolobo— Spiritual  Progress 
there — Reports  of  Misrule  by  the  State — Death  of  Oram — 
Request  for  Clothes — Progress  at  San  Salvador — Launch  of 
the  'Goodwill' — Baptisms  at  Bolobo — Death  of  Mr.  Balfem 
— The  Aruwimi — A  Chapter  of  Accidents— Difficulties  with 
the  State  Officers— Staff  Changes— A  School  Treat— Girl 
Swimmers — Roast  Beef  and  Plum  Pudding — Wickedness  of 
Bolobo  People— Wreck  of  the  '  Courbet  '—A  Slave  Snatched 
from  Death — Losses  by  Death — Sargent  Station — Fataki 
and  his  Wife — Loleka  Brickmaking  and  Building — French 
Treatment  of  Natives— Treatment  of  Natives  by  the  State- 
Plans  for  the  Future. 

THE  matters  of  outstanding  interest  in  the  period  of 
Grenfell's  life  covered  by  this  chapter  are,  the 
reconstruction  of  the  *  Goodwill/  the  signal  development 
of  the  Mission  at  Bolobo,  the  founding  of  Sargent 
Station,  Yakusu,  and  the  rise  of  troubles  with  the  State 
consequent  upon  flagrant  misrule. 

Bolobo  was  upon  Grenfell's  heart  all  through  the 
Lunda  Expedition,  and  he  was  eager  to  return  to  his 
new  home,  that  he  might  devote  himself  to  the  patient, 
spiritual  work  which  he  yearned  to  accomplish,  subject 
to  such  welcome  interruptions  as  might  be  occasioned 
by  expeditions  for  the  founding  of  new  stations  and  the 
furtherance  of  his  far-reaching  plans. 

Disappointments  awaited  him.  He  arrived  at 
Underbill  early  in  July,  but  the  winding  up  of  delimi- 
tation matters,  a  brief  but  happy  visit  to  San  Salvador 


Back  at  Bolobo  335 

in  company  with  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt,  and  necessary 
Mission  business,  detained  him  down  river,  and  it  was 
not  until  September  25  that  he  reached  Bolobo. 

Here  he  hoped  to  find  the  '  Goodwill '  afloat,  but 
instead  he  was  compelled  to  put  in  months  of  work, 
often  nine  hours  a  day,  before  the  new  steamer  was 
ready  for  her  trial  trip.  Later,  the  '  Peace,'  which  was 
so  badly  worn  that  the  ferule  of  a  walking-stick  could 
easily  be  pushed  through  her  hull,  lay  upon  the  slip  for 
months,  and  was  half  rebuilt.  Often  the  illness  of 
colleagues,  and  consequent  short-handedness,  left  him 
in  charge  of  both  steamers ;  and  though  he  did  no 
exploration  work  of  moment,  he  was  so  continually 
going  and  coming,  fetching  and  carrying,  that  for 
months  together  he  spent  only  days  at  Bolobo. 

Once  he  writes  en  voyage,  that  when  he  gets  back  to 
Bolobo  he  will  have  covered  two  thousand  miles.  It  is 
obviously  impossible  within  the  limits  of  this  chapter  to 
follow  these  many  voyages  in  detail.  As  regards  the 
extension  of  the  work,  his  disappointment  was  very 
bitter.  The  financial  stress  of  the  Society,  and  the 
consequent  indisposition  of  many  of  its  supporters  to 
adopt  a  costly  and  adventurous  policy,  checked  advance. 
During  this  period  only  one  new  station  was  established, 
viz.  Sargent  Station,  Yakusu.  But  events  have  proved 
that  this  single  step  forward  was  a  great  one.  The 
success  at  Yakusu  has  been  perhaps  unique ;  and  the 
joy  of  it  was  a  great  alleviation  of  Grenfell's  many  griefs, 
as  his  life  drew  to  its  close. 

The  development  of  the  work  at  Bolobo  was  also  a 
great  encouragement,  though  of  necessity  it  added  to 
the  burden  of  his  cares.  Good  houses  were  built  there 
for  the  staff  of  missionaries,  increased  by  the  adoption 
of  Bolobo  as  the  steamer  depot,  and  the  transfer  of  the 


336         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

printing-press  from  Lukolela.  The  building  of  these 
good  houses  for  missionaries  elicited  some  criticism  from 
persons  who  have  a  pious  dread  of  missionaries'  comfort 
— criticism  which  Grenfell  had  no  difficulty  in  rebutting. 
Workshops  and  school-buildings  were  also  erected,  and 
natives  were  instructed  in  various  industrial  crafts  with 
so  much  success  that  it  was  no  longer  necessary  to 
procure  workmen  from  the  coast. 

And  there  was  spiritual  progress.  The  wickedness 
of  the  natives,  with  their  petty  wars,  their  witchcraft 
executions,  their  funeral  orgies,  and  their  less  describable 
abominations,  constituted  a  terrible  environment.  Yet 
the  power  of  the  Gospel  was  steadily,  if  slowly,  revealed  ; 
there  were  baptisms  from  time  to  time,  the  school 
increased  in  numbers,  and  Grenfell  and  his  colleagues 
had  the  joy  of  seeing  men  and  women  about  them,  who 
had  been  rescued  from  grossest  depravity,  living  the 
Christian  life,  '  not  slothful  in  business,  diligent  in  spirit, 
serving  the  Lord,'  while  others  not  yet  Christians  were 
doing  useful  work  and  living  decently  and  soberly. 
Vignettes  of  some  of  them  will  be  given  by  Grenfell's 
pen  later  on. 

The  financial  troubles  of  the  Society  weighed  upon 
him.  He  was  keen  for  all  possible  economy,  and  ready 
with  expert  advice  as  regards  feasible  improvements  in 
the  machinery  of  administration. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  serious  reports  were  first 
published  concerning  the  gross  ill-treatment  of  natives 
by  agents  of  the  State,  or  others  to  whom  the  State 
had  delegated  powers.  In  this  chapter  Grenfell  will  be 
permitted  to  speak  for  himself  upon  the  subject.  It 
may  be  sufficient  to  state  here,  that  for  a  long  time  he 
conscientiously  believed  that  the  wrongs  occurring  were 
due   to   inadequacy   of  administration,  and  not  to  evil 


A  Depleted  Wardrobe       Z2>7 

intent,  on  the  part  of  the  Belgian  authorities.  The 
State  had  undertaken  far  more  than  it  could  manage 
with  its  paltry  resources,  and  was  unable  to  exercise 
due  control  of  its  representatives  in  remote  regions. 

There  were  many  deaths  between  1893  and  1896,  and 
Grenfell's  brotherly  heart  was  sorely  wrung  by  the  loss 
of  beloved  colleagues.  He  was  with  Oram  when  he 
died  at  Bopoto,  and  wrote  home  a  beautiful  tribute  to 
the  character  and  worth  and  victorious  faith  of  a 
missionary  of  exceptional  promise. 

A  comparatively  trivial  matter  may  here  be  referred 
to.  More  than  once  in  these  years  Grenfell  writes  to 
Mr.  Hawkes,  craving  his  assistance  in  replenishing  a 
depleted  wardrobe.  The  clothes  of  this  pilgrim  were 
not  like  those  of  the  wandering  Israelites  :  they  waxed 
old.  He  professes  impatience  with  the  sartorial  demands 
made  by  the  increase  of  civilization  on  the  Congo.  He 
must  have  dress  clothes  to  receive  Governors,  and  so  on, 
and  often  yearns  for  '  the  freedom  of  the  jungle,'  where 
he  could  'revel  in  pyjamas  tied  with  a  string.'  It  is 
open  to  question,  however,  whether  this  impatience  was 
a  deep  or  permanent  emotion ;  for,  as  all  his  colleagues 
testify,  Grenfell  was  habitually  punctilious  in  his  personal 
appointments.  When  he  was  engaged  in  steamer  work 
or  in  brick-making  he  dressed  for  the  part,  but  normally 
he  was  lavish  of  clean  linen,  and  carefully  attired. 

In  the  letter  to  Mr.  Hawkes,  largely  quoted  at  the 
close  of  this  chapter,  he  gives  a  detailed  inventory  of 
his  requirements  in  matters  of  ordinary  dress,  and  also 
desires  that  his  friend  will  procure  for  him  some 
buttons  and  ribbons  and  rosettes  for  his  decorations. 
His  instructions  are  exact  and  minute,  as  usual,  and 
having  completed  them,  he  writes:  'Am  I  getting 
"  daft "  in  my  old  age  ?     I    think  you  will  believe  me 

z 


338         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

when  I  tell  you  that  1  care  for  these  distinctions  but 
very  little,  as  mere  distinctions,  but  seeing  they  are  so 
highly  prized  by  my  neighbours,  they  may  possibly  be 
of  service  in  securing  a  little  extra  consideration  for 
myself,  or  for  my  views  and  communications.' 

There  is  not  the  shadow  of  doubt  that  in  these  words 
Grenfell  expressed  truly  and  exactly  his  own  feeling. 
He  has  been  gravely  criticized  for  accepting  decorations 
from  such  a  person  as  King  Leopold.  It  is  enough  to 
say,  in  reply,  that  when  Grenfell  completed  his  Lunda 
Commission,  the  scandals  of  Congo  misrule  had  not 
arisen  ;  and  that  his  acceptance  of  honours  which  he 
had  nobly  earned  was  endorsed  by  the  Home  Committee, 
who  believed,  as  simply  and  sanely  as  he  did,  that  his 
distinctions  might  be  useful  to  the  Mission. 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Underbill,  August  21,  1893. 

'  My  visit  to  San  Salvador  was  the  source  of  very 
great  pleasure — not  only  because  of  the  intercourse  I 
had  with  my  brethren  there,  but  also  because  of  the 
encouraging  change  that  has  come  over  the  place  since 
my  previous  visit.  My  colleague,  Lawson  Forfeitt,  the 
pleasure  of  whose  company  I  enjoyed  on  this  journey, 
though  he  could  not  contrast  the  work  at  San  Salvador 
to-day  with  our  earliest  efforts  at  that  place,  greatly 
rejoiced  at  the  manifest  activity  of  our  small  Church, 
and  the  eagerness  of  the  surrounding  villages  to  receive 
the  ministrations  of  the  missionaries  and  evangelists. 

*  The  Church  members  number  forty-nine ;  the 
scholars  in  regular  attendance  about  twice  that  number, 
the  girls  being  more  numerous  than  the  boys,  a  fact 
largely  due  to  the  very  marked  influence  of  Mrs.  Lewis, 
who  is  a  splendid  missionary.  On  Sundays  there 
are  twelve  or  thirteen  services  held  in  as  many  villages 


«..*i53!S        fe«?^- 


CHRISTIAN    GATHERING   AT   SAN   SALVADOR. 

Opening  of  the  new  Church,  September  18,  1899. 

Photo:  Rei\  Thomas  Lewis. 


GRENFELL   AND    LAWSON   FORFEITT  IN   FRONT  OF 

MR.   LEWIS'S   HOUSE   AT  SAN   SALVADOR,  1893 

Photo  •'  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis 


At  San  Salvador 


OJ. 


within  a  radius  of  some  six  miles  from  San  Salvador. 
At  four  places  the  natives  have  built  meeting-houses, 
and  at  two  of  these  the  San  Salvador  Church  supports 
native  teachers,  and  hopes  soon  to  set  apart  a  third  for 
the  same  work. 

'Mr.  Crudgington's  old  friend  Buku  inquired  after 
her  "  Mwana  Hali "  (child  Harry),  and  when  she  heard 
he  was  again  in  England  begged  me  to  send  many 
"  mavimpis "  (greetings).  The  San  Salvador  Church 
members  have  recently  come  into  contact  with  the 
Chinese  labourers  sent  out  for  the  Congo  Railway, 
and  are  greatly  interested  in  the  work  of  our  Society 
in  China.  They  propose,  Mr.  Lewis  tells  me,  to  give 
very  practical  evidence  of  their  sympathy,  by  sending 
some  money  to  their  old  friend,  Herbert  Dixon,  to  help 
him  in  his  work  among  these  people.  So  you  see,  my 
dear  Mr.  Baynes,  a  great  change  has  come  over  the  San 
Salvador  people  since  the  early  history  of  our  work 
among  them  ;  such  a  change  as  sends  us  on  our  way 
with  renewed  courage ;  such  a  change  as  fills  our 
hearts  with  thankfulness  to  Him  in  Whose  Name  we 
labour.' 

I  have  met  with  no  record  of  Grenfell  having  visited 
San  Salvador  again.  But  he  took  constant  interest  in 
the  extension  of  the  work  at  the  first  B.M.S.  Congo 
station,  and  was  frequently  consulted  by  his  friend, 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis,  with  whom  he  had  much  in 
common.  They  were  both  builders,  mechanics,  and 
explorers,  as  well  as  missionaries.  Mr.  Forfeitt  recalls 
that  during  the  visit  to  San  Salvador,  in  1893,  Grenfell 
and  Lewis  spent  much  time  after  nightfall  in  watching 
the  stars  through  the  latter's  powerful  telescope,  by  way 
of  increasing  their  expertness  in  taking  geographical 
observations. 


340  Bolobo  and   Yakusu 

Mr.  Lewis  had  done  important  geographical  work 
before  leaving  the  Cameroons,  where  he  commenced 
his  missionary  life.  His  subsequent  explorations  in  the 
region  of  Angola  secured  the  notice  and  approval  of 
the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  before  which  he  was 
invited  to  read  important  papers  ;  and  his  achievements 
in  this  direction  won  for  him  Grenfell's  warmest 
sympathy  and  heartiest  congratulations.  Mr.  Lewis 
also  gratefully  acknowledged  his  indebtedness  to  Gren- 
fell  for  valuable  hints  which  aided  him  in  his  studies 
and  researches. 

Renewed  intercourse  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis  was 
one  of  Grenfell's  chief  pleasures  at  the  Kinshasa  Con- 
ference in  January,  1906,  when  he  was  already  a 
saddened,  burdened  man,  who  foresaw  that  his  race  was 
nearly  run  ;  and  his  friends,  who  had  left  San  Salvador 
and  founded  the  Mission  in  Kibokolo,  will  always  count 
the  memory  of  their  converse  with  him  upon  this 
occasion  among  their  dearest  recollections. 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

Underbill,  August  22. 

'The  purport  of  this  is  not  to  tell  you  news  only, 
but  to  ask  your  help  again.  On  my  return  from  San 
Salvador  I  got  letters  from  my  bairns,  saying  their 
Bibles  were  old  and  shabby,  and  asking  me  for  new 
ones.  Kindly  spend  sixteen  shillings  or  a  pound  on  two 
Bibles,  with  Concordance,  Maps  and  *'  Aids."  I  think 
they  should  be  "  Revised,"  and  on  India  paper.  I  like 
limp  binding.     Please  write  in  one  : — 

*  "  For  Pattie's  thirteenth  birthday,  with  Father's  love, 
June  6,  1893." 

'  In  the  other  : — "  For  Carrie's  tenth  birthday,  with 
Father's  love,  October  22,  1893." 

'  Please,   also,   send    them    postal    orders    for    five 


The  'Goodwiir   Launched 


34t 


shillings  each  for  pocket-money.  The  dates  of  their 
receiving  these  gifts  won't  be  exactly  right,  but  they  will 
excuse  that.' 

To  Mrs.  Greenhough. 

Stanley  Pool,  April  23,  1894. 

'  I  ought  to  have  answered  your  kind  letter  long 
ago,  but  circumstances  have  been  so  against  my  letter- 
writing  of  late  that  I  have  to  plead  guilty  of  being 
sadly  in  arrears  with  my  correspondence.  The  best 
excuse  I  can  make,  I  think,  will  be  found  in  an  outline 
of  doings  and  goings  and  comings  since  my  return 
from  the  Lunda  country,  six  months  ago, 

'When    I    found   myself    so  long  delayed  with  the 
work  of  the  "  Delimitation  Commission,"  I  hoped  the 
"  Goodwill "  would   be   afloat   by   the  time    I    reached 
Bolobo.     In  this,  however,  I  was  greatly  disappointed, 
for  both  the  transport  and  the  reconstruction  had  gone 
very  slowly ;  and  when  I  reached  Bolobo  I  found  Mr. 
Jefiferd  ill  in  bed,  and  operations  on  board  the  '*  Good- 
will "  almost  at  a  standstill.     As  Mr.  Jefferd  could  not 
look  forward  to  resuming  the  work,  I  felt  I  must  do 
what  I  could  towards  getting  it  finished.     A  couple  of 
months  of  continuous  effort,   involving  the  neglect  of 
almost  everything  else,  and  we  so  far  completed  it  as  to 
be  ready  for  the  launch,  though  there  still  remained  a 
considerable   amount    to   be   done   to   the    boiler   and 
engines,  as  well  as  to  the  cabins.      We  launched  the 
"  Goodwill "  in  the  middle  of  December,  but  it  was  not 
till  the  close  of  January  that  we  were  ready  to  start  on 
our  first  journey  up  river.     Our  work  of  reconstructing 
the  steamer  was  all  the  heavier  because  we  had  to  make 
several   pieces  of  one  of  the  engines,  to  replace  those 
that  had  been  lost   in  the  transport  overland  between 
Underhill  and  Stanley  Pool.      The   most  important  of 


342  Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

these  missing  parts  was  the  high-pressure  piston-rod, 
and  as  I  did  not  feel  equal  to  forging  it  myself,  our 
Belgian  neighbours  at  the  Pool  very  kindly  undertook 
to  do  that  part  of  the  work  for  us.  But  after  the 
forging  there  was  all  the  work  of  turning  and  fitting 
to  be  done — a  task  quite  serious  enough  for  the 
amateurs  at  Bolobo,  However,  we  managed  to  make 
"  a  job  "  of  it,  and  to  get  the  boiler  quite  tight,  though 
we  had  no  other  help  than  that  of  our  Mission  boys, 
and  on  January  30  we  set  out  on  our  first  journey  up 
river. 

'  Just  before  starting  it  was  my  happiness  to  baptize 
three  of  the  youths  who  had  for  some  time  been  under 
the  instruction  of  our  brethren  Darby  and  Glennie,  and 
to  add  them  to  our  small  Church  at  Bolobo.  At  some 
Stations  on  the  Upper  Congo  much  greater  progress  has 
been  made  than  at  the  Stations  of  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Society — at  least  in  the  matter  of  numbers. 
I  found  on  my  way  up  river,  however,  that  some  of 
the  brethren  among  our  more  progressive  neighbours 
were  already  doubtful  of  the  policy  of  hurrying  mem- 
bers into  the  Church  upon  profession  of  faith.  One 
Church  of  nearly  forty  members  had  been  reduced  to 
ten,  and  another  out  of  almost  as  many  had  lost  even  a 
greater  proportion.  I  do  not  say  this  by  the  way  of 
criticism  of  other  organizations  ;  I  just  tell  you  so  that 
you  may  not  be  discouraged  by  comparisons  which  I 
know  have  been  made  between  our  units  and  the  tens 
at  other  Stations. 

'At  a  large  centre  like  Bolobo  it  is  more  difficult 
to  make  a  beginning  than  at  a  smaller  place.  The 
mutually  sustaining  forces  of  superstition  arrayed 
against  us  seem  to  be  greater,  and  the  larger  the  mass 
the  more  difficult  it  is  for  a  small  section  to  take  up  an 


Deaths  of  CoUeag^ues        343 

antagonistic  position.  But  the  leaven  of  the  Word  is 
permeating  the  mass,  and  though  its  visible  effects  as 
yet  are  very,  very  slight,  yet  it  is  certainly  at  work,  and 
in  God's  own  good  time  it  shall  be  manifested  to  His 
glory. 

'  When  we  got  up  river  as  far  as  Bopoto  we  found 
Mr.  Oram  seriously  ill.  Our  coming  brightened  him 
up,  and  we  could  not  realize  that  he  was  so  bad  as  he 
really  was.  Poor  fellow  !  He  died  the  next  day,  just 
two  days  (as  we  learn  by  last  mail)  before  his  friend  and 
colleague  Balfern  died  at  Madeira.  These  are  serious 
losses  for  us,  and  the  gaps  thus  made  in  our  ranks 
cannot  be  filled  by  new  men.  Mr.  Kirkland  stayed  at 
Bopoto  to  help  Mr.  William  Forfeitt,  but  it  will  be  long 
before  he  acquires  a  knowledge  of  the  language  and  the 
personal  influence  of  his  predecessor.  Personal  influ- 
ence is  a  great  factor  in  the  work  among  wild  people. 
The  message  must  not  only  be  understandable,  but  the 
messenger  must  be  a  man  the  people  know,  and  one 
whom  they  have  learned  to  trust. 

*  Upon  leaving  Bopoto  we  proceeded  in  the  direction 
of  the  Aruwimi,  that  we  might  carry  out  Mr.  Arthington's 
wish  that  we  should  prospect  along  the  banks  of  that 
river,  and  report  as  to  the  advantages  it  offered  for  the 
extension  of  mission  work  in  that  direction.  Owing  to 
the  fact  that  it  was  the  season  of  dead  low  water  we  had 
so  much  trouble  with  sand-banks  that  we  had  to  return, 
after  having  ascended  some  thirty  miles  beyond  Basoko. 
(Basoko  is  the  fort  at  the  confluence  of  the  Aruwimi 
River  with  the  Congo,  which  has  played  such  an  im- 
portant part  in  stopping  the  progress  of  the  Arabs 
westward.) 

*  At  the  last  sandbank  upon  which  the  steamer  stuck 
one  of  our  men  met  with  quite  a  serious  accident.     We 


344         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

had  all  the  men  out  in  the  water,  trying  to  push  the 
steamer  off,  and  at  the  same  time  the  engines  were 
going  astern.  The  man  who  was  hurt  found  it  fun  to 
put  his  foot  on  the  rapidly  revolving  shaft  to  feel  it 
go  round.  Heedless  of  the  warning  to  desist,  in  an 
unfortunate  moment  he  carried  his  foot  a  little  too  far 
aft,  and  the  propeller  caught  him  by  the  leg  and  held 
him.  Bungudi  at  once  stopped  the  engine,  and  then 
jumped  overboard,  to  feel  how  the  poor  fellow  was 
mixed  up  with  the  propeller,  and  to  determine  which 
was  the  best  way  to  turn  the  engine  to  get  him  clear. 
Then  we  gradually  turned  the  engine  by  hand  till  he  was 
released.  At  one  moment  I  did  not  think  we  could  get 
him  out  alive  ;  in  fact,  he  seemed  to  be  dying  in  the 
arms  of  the  man  who  was  holding  his  head  above  the 
level  of  the  water.  But  things  were  better  than  we 
feared,  and  we  were  able  to  get  him  on  one  of  the 
gratings,  and  then  to  pass  him  on  board,  relieved  to 
find  it  was  not  worse  than  a  case  of  a  broken  leg  and 
badly  mangled  leg  and  foot.  After  this  we  put  out 
anchors  bow  and  stern,  and  gradually  warped  the  steamer 
off  the  bank  with  the  help  of  the  winch.  But  it  was 
slow  work,  and  all  the  while  it  was  in  progress  the 
injured  man  was  groaning  from  the  pain  caused  by  his 
wounds,  and  by  the  tourniquet  we  had  applied  to  stop 
the  bleeding. 

'  Once  clear  of  the  sandbank,  we  determined  to  return 
forthwith  to  Basoko,  and  get  the  help  of  the  doctor  at 
the  fort.  But  we  had  to  spend  two  more  hours  on 
another  sandbank,  and  it  was  not  till  sundown  that  we 
arrived.  The  doctor,  good  man  that  he  is,  spent  three 
hours  setting  the  bone,  cutting  off  contused  flesh,  sewing 
up  and  getting  the  leg  into  shape.  No  surgical  work 
could   have  been  more  thoroughly  done,  and  we  were 


A  Chapter  of  Accidents     345 

not  only  grateful  for  the  professional  help,  but  also 
because  we  were  relieved  of  a  very  painful  task  that  we 
could  only  have  performed  in  a  very  imperfect  manner. 
It  is  not  easy  for  amateurs  to  do  even  their  best,  when 
they  have  such  distressing  injuries  to  deal  with.  Three 
days  later  we  left  our  patient  at  his  home,  Bopoto, 
under  the  care  of  Mr.  Forfeitt  and  Mr.  Kirkland  ;  and 
I  am  quite  hoping  to  see  him  far  on  his  way  to  recovery, 
when  next  month  I  make  another  journey  up  river,  and 
try  once  more  to  carry  out  Mr.  Arthington's  wish. 

*  On  our  way  down  river  all  went  well  till  we  were 
within  four  or  five  hours  of  Bolobo,  and  then  began 
quite  a  chapter  of  accidents.  First  of  all,  as  we  were 
running  across  a  shallow  place  we  felt  a  severe  shock 
throughout  the  whole  boat.  At  the  same  time  we  felt 
her  bows  glide  over  the  crest  of  the  sandbank  into  deep 
water,  and  as  there  was  no  perceptible  arrest  to  our 
progress,  we  thought  the  shock  might  have  been  pro- 
duced by  the  propeller  striking  the  sand.  A  few  minutes 
later  one  of  the  men  came  to  report  a  leak  aft,  and 
upon  searching  we  found  it  to  be  due  to  the  breaking  of 
one  of  the  bolts  of  the  starboard  propeller  casing.  The 
shock  we  had  experienced  accounted  for  this.  It  was 
severe  enough  to  have  done  much  more,  and  we  were 
glad  that  it  was  not  worse. 

'  Half  an  hour  later  the  port  engine  began  to  spin 
round  at  a  great  pace.  It  was  evidently  relieved  of  its 
load.  What  had  happened  ?  Was  the  shaft  uncoupled, 
or  had  it  broken  ?  The  former  could  easily  be  put 
right  ;  but  as  it  proved  to  be  the  latter,  we  were  in  for 
a  serious  piece  of  work.  A  long  flaw  that  had  not 
been  observed  had  developed  into  a  crack,  and  had  at 
last  resulted  in  the  shaft  giving  way.  There  was  no 
help  for  it  but  to  proceed  with  one  engine.     This  fracture 


346  Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

occurred  in  that  portion  of  the  shaft  which  extends 
beyond  the  after  part  of  the  hull,  and  as  we  were 
investigating  the  matter  we  found  that  the  shock  of 
the  morning  had  been  more  serious  than  we  thought  ; 
sixteen  bolts  had  been  broken,  and  the  propeller-casing 
had  gone.  The  efficiency  of  our  remaining  propeller 
was  therefore  reduced,  but  we  were  still  able  to  go  more 
than  half  speed.  So,  casting  off  from  the  bank  where 
we  had  *  tied  up '  to  see  what  had  really  happened,  we 
continued  our  journey  Bolobo-ward. 

'  We  had  covered  half  the  distance,  and  had  only  a 
couple  of  hours  or  so  to  run,  when  a  tornado  overtook 
us.  With  our  two  engines  in  going  order  we  should  not 
have  been  in  a  bad  way  for  meeting  such  an  emergency, 
but  with  only  one,  and  that  not  able  to  do  its  best,  it 
was  another  matter.  The  weather  was  too  thick  to  think 
of  running  before  it ;  the  only  thing  to  be  done  was  to 
head  up  into  it ;  but  with  one  engine  she  came  round 
but  slowly,  and  was  caught  broadside  by  the  wind.  The 
wind  increasing  kept  her  broadside  on,  and  then,  with  a 
sudden  gust,  just  lifted  a  hundred  square  feet  of  our  sun 
deck,  or  awning,  clear  off  the  vessel,  and  blew  it  away 
down  stream.  We  then  tried  to  get  the  steamer's  head 
round  to  the  wind  by  means  of  an  anchor  and  chain,  but 
lost  them  in  the  attempt. 

'Our  second  effort  in  the  same  direction  was  more 
successful ;  but  finding  the  force  of  the  wind  was  drag- 
ging our  anchor,  we  had  to  get  out  yet  another.  With 
two  anchors  down  and  head  to  wind,  our  vessel  behaved 
capitally,  and  we  rode  out  the  storm  in  good  style. 
Three  hours  later  the  wind  had  so  eased  down  that  we 
were  able  to  proceed  on  our  journey,  and  two  hours  later 
still,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting,  we  got  into  Bolobo, 
thankful  indeed  to  close  so  adventurous  a  day  in  safety. 


A  State  Palaver  347 

'  It  was  needful  to  proceed  to  Stanley  Pool,  to 
despatch  thence  the  news  of  Oram's  death,  and  also  to 
send  for  a  new  shaft  for  our  disabled  "  Goodwill,"  so  I 
continued  the  journey  in  the  "  Peace,"  It  was  indeed  a 
contrast  that  was  afforded  by  getting  off  our  fine  new 
steamer  with  its  greater  speed  and  accommodation,  and 
getting  on  board  the  old  one.  Notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  "  Peace "  is  very  much  smaller  than  the 
•'  Goodwill,"  and  goes  much  more  slowly,  she  burns  much 
more  fuel,  and  thus  involves  us  in  a  heavier  daily  task 
of  wood-cutting — a  task  of  no  mean  order,  when  you 
consider  that  the  "  Peace  "  burns  a  ton  and  a  half  each 
day. 

*  Having  reached  the  Pool,  I  managed  to  send  off 
one  or  two  small  notes  and  letters  to  Mr.  Baynes,  and 
to  the  builders  of  the  steamer  respecting  the  broken 
shaft.  But  before  I  could  attack  my  arrears  of  letter- 
writing  I  was  down  with  fever,  and  before  my  tempera- 
ture was  normal  I  was  on  my  way  up  river  to  Bolobo 
once  more. 

'  A  few  hours  after  arriving  at  Bolobo  the  place  was 
all  in  a  ferment  by  reason  of  the  arrival  of  the  State 
authorities  to  settle  the  "  palaver "  arising  out  of  the 
natives  having  killed  a  State  soldier  some  months  pre- 
viously. The  murderer  had  run  away,  with  his  wives 
and  slaves,  to  some  point  where  the  steamers  could  not 
follow  him.  This  being  the  case,  the  Commissaire 
demanded  ten  men  to  serve  as  soldiers  for  seven  years, 
as  a  recognition  of  the  authority  of  the  State,  and  a 
pledge  for  future  good  behaviour. 

'  The  palavers  were  so  long  and  arduous  that  the 
poor  Commissaire  was  thoroughly  worn  out.  That  he 
persisted  in  spite  of  fever  and  weakness  was  only  due  to 
his  very  exceptional  energy  and  determination.     It  was 


348         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

not  unusual  for  him,  after  going  to  bed  with  ague  and 
fever,  to  get  up  from  it  with  temperature  ioo°  or  ioi° 
to  talk  to  the  assembled  chiefs,  and  then  for  him  to 
"  turn  in  "  again. 

'  At  one  point  in  the  negotiations  it  looked  as  though 
they  were  definitely  ruptured,  and  that  there  would  be 
more  fighting.  But  the  memories  of  the  last  war  and 
the  influence  of  the  moderates  prevailed,  the  palavers 
were  resumed,  a  compromise  of  six  men  and  a  money 
payment  agreed  to,  and  the  whole  affair  eventually 
settled.  At  Bolobo  we  had  been  living  under  the  cloud 
of  this  unsettled  difficulty  for  some  months,  and  at  one 
time,  from  what  we  saw  of  the  temper  of  the  people,  we 
were  seriously  afraid  the  place  would  have  to  be  burned 
out  again  before  they  would  submit.  Happily  the  cloud 
has  lifted,  and  the  horizon  is  clear  once  more. 

'  The  night  after  the  final  settlement  had  been 
arrived  at,  the  chiefs  sent  a  big  pig  to  Mrs.  Grenfell,  as 
a  token  of  their  thanks  for  the  part  she  had  played  in 
the  matter.  Officially,  of  course,  the  missionary's  wife 
could  do  nothing  ;  but  indirectly  she  did  a  great  deal  to 
strengthen  the  hands  of  the  moderates,  and  to  make  the 
nasty  pill,  of  submission  to  the  "powers  that  be," 
palatable. 

'  With  a  sick  officer  on  my  hands,  the  town  all  in  a 
hubbub,  and,  to  make  matters  worse,  with  my  colleague 
Glennie  in  bed  with  fever,  the  occasion  was  not  a  favour- 
able one  for  getting  through  arrears  of  work.  Matters, 
however,  being  so  far  settled,  I  might  expect  a  quiet 
time,  and  an  opportunity  for  doing  something  in  that 
direction  ;  but  the  Commissaire  was  so  ill  that  I  could 
not  let  him  come  down  in  an  open  boat ;  I  brought  him 
here  to  the  Pool  in  the  "  Peace."  As  soon  as  he  arrived 
the  doctor  ordered  him  to  Europe,  and  a  medical  man 


A  Great  Disappointment     349 

has  gone  down  country  with  him  ;  but  it  is  very  doubtful 
whether  he  will  reach  the  coast  alive. 

*  Having  thus  arrived  at  Arthington  Station  once 
more,  I  am  utilizing  the  time,  while  I  wait  for  the  arrival 
of  caravans  with  cargo  to  load  the  "  Peace,"  by  writing 
one  or  two  letters.  Owing  to  war  on  the  caravan  route, 
transport  has  been  practically  stopped  for  the  past  four 
months,  and  our  up-river  stations  are  getting  short  of 
food  stores.  It  is  therefore  all  the  more  important  that 
I  should  wait  for  the  arrival  of  loads  that  are  advised  as 
being  en  route.  The  last  contingent  is  now  reported  as 
being  within  a  day's  march. 

'It  is  a  great  pleasure  for  me  to  learn  that  Mr. 
White  is  to  rejoin  us  at  an  early  date.  We  are  really 
very  short-handed,  and  a  man  who  has  had  some  ex- 
perience, and  who  is  always  ready  to  do  the  next  thing, 
as  Mr.  White  is,  will  be  very  helpful  in  the  emergency 
in  which  we  find  ourselves  just  now.  On  the  upper 
river,  besides  having  lost  our  brethren  Oram  and 
Balfern,  we  have  had  to  part  with  Darby,  on  account 
of  his  wife's  health,  and  with  Ernest  Hughes.  Jeiiferd 
has  had  to  go  home  on  account  of  his  health.  Scrivener 
is  at  home  on  furlough,  and  Gordon  is  leaving  in  a  few 
days  ;  so  you  can  imagine  how  welcome  help  will  be. 

'  It  is  a  great  disappointment,  after  the  hopes  raised 
by  the  Centenary  celebrations  and  its  programme  for 
advance,  to  find  ourselves  reduced  in  numbers,  and,  for 
the  present,  with  but  little  prospect  of  adequate  rein- 
forcement. We  have  the  best  of  the  land  still  before  us 
to  be  possessed,  we  have  laid  down  expensive  lines  of 
communication  for  entering  upon  its  occupation,  and 
now,  instead  of  taking  advantage  of  these  means  of 
communication,  we  have  to  maintain  them  at  great  cost, 
and  to  wait  for  the  opportunity  to  turn  them  to  account. 


350         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

God  grant  that  the  time  may  soon  come  when  we  may 
act  more  worthily  of  our  opportunities,  and  more  faith- 
fully discharge  our  responsibilities  in  these  matters  !  .  .  . 

'  My  wife  desires  to  thank  you  for  the  magazines  you 
so  kindly  send  ;  they  are  very  interesting, — and  the 
children  share  in  the  pleasure  they  afford,  for  they 
diligently  "  read  the  pictures."  I  must  not  forget  to  say 
thank  you  also,  for  the  Leaders  with  the  sermons.  I 
greatly  enjoy  reading  them,  and  I  recognize  the  turns 
of  the  sentences  and  call  up  the  Gotham  Grove  tones 
with  real  pleasure.  There  is  no  man's  matter  or  manner 
that  I  remember  better  than  Mr.  Greenhough's.  Don't 
forget  the  "Annual,"  or  to  send  other  sermons  when 
occasion  offers.  I  should  be  very  glad,  of  course,  to  get 
his  promised  letter,  but  I  know  he  is  very  busy,  and  I 
sin  so  often  myself  in  the  matter  of  letter-writing  that 
I  am  prepared  to  wait. 

'  Please  remember  us  very  kindly  to  Ben  and  to 
Isabel,  and  to  the  other  members  of  your  little  flock. 
Our  girls,  whom  Mr.  Cameron  has  just  been  visiting  at 
Sevenoaks,  are  reported  as  being  well  and  happy,  and 
getting  quite  tall.  Mr.  Cameron  says  Pattie  is  up  to  his 
chin.  You  know  Mr.  Cameron,  I  dare  say,  and  will 
recognize  that  that  means  quite  a  "length"  for  a  girl, 
for  he  is  over  six  feet.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  December  25. 

'  We  have  been  having  "  big  times  "  to-day — school 

treat  and   work-people's  feast  rolled  into  one,  and  just 

now,  6.30  p.m.,  the  native  women  and  girls  are  keeping  it 

up  by  having  a  dance  round  our  flag-staff.     Our  school 

children  numbered  nearly  seventy,  and  so  far  as  to-day 

is  concerned  I  think  they  have  nearly  finished,  for  they 

have  just  dispersed  (somewhat  slowly),  after  eating  a 


Chpistmas  Festivities        351 

couple  of  pigs.  True,  they  were  not  very  big  pigs, 
hardly  more  than  "porkers,"  in  fact.  Still,  they  were 
big  enough  to  take  the  go  out  of  the  feasters,  who 
would  cut  but  sorry  figures  now  as  compared  with  earlier 
in  the  day,  when  they  were  running,  jumping,  swimming, 
diving,  skipping  and  playing  pitch-back  and  cricket,  for 
prizes  of  knives,  looking-glasses,  and  fathoms  of  cloth. 

'  Strange  to  say,  our  Mission  girls  are  better  swimmers 
and  divers  than  the  town's  boys,  for  when  they  came  to 
take  their  turn  they  fished  up  not  only  the  brass  rods 
(our  money),  thrown  in  for  themselves,  but  also  succeeded 
in  securing  several  of  those  which  the  boys  had  aban- 
doned as  beyond  their  reach,  in  the  previous  contest. 
Seeing  the  boys  are  regular  water-rats,  it  speaks  well  for 
the  capacity  of  our  girls  as  water-nymphs. 

'  One  of  the  best  bits  of  fun  was  the  tug-of-war 
between  the  Mission  folk  and  the  town's  folk.  First 
two  tugs,  our  side  ran  away  with  the  visitors,  the  third 
was  a  most  determined  struggle.  The  rope  broke  !  and 
then  there  was  such  a  jumble  of  more  than  a  hundred 
pairs  of  arms  and  legs  as  one  rarely  sees. 

'  Roast  beef  with  you  is  quite  the  expected  thing  for 
Christmas,  but  seeing  we  have  not  had  any  for  some 
months,  we  were  very  much  surprised  yesterday  to  get 
a  leg  of  bufifalo  from  one  of  our  people,  just  in  the  nick 
of  time.  But  we  had  no  plum  pudding  !  We  had  tinned 
plum  pudding  in  our  store,  but,  after  all,  it  is  only  a  poor 
imitation,  and  so  we  decided  we  would  go  without,  rather 
than  "  make  believe,"  as  the  children  say. 

*  But  though  we  have  had  roast  beef,  and  our  folk 
have  had  lots  of  fun,  I've  had  anything  but  a  Merry 
Christmas.  .  .  .  Besides  these  things  I  have  other 
burdens — the  most  serious  of  them  being  those  that 
arise  out  of  the  condition  of  the  Bolobo  people.     They 


352  Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

are  rapacious,  superstitious,  and  lawless  to  a  degree  that 
is  quite  beyond  me  to  explain.  He  that  has  money  and 
influence,  uses  his  power  to  take  the  money  from,  or 
make  a  slave  of,  his  poorer  neighbour.  He  lays  a  trap 
for  him,  very  often  calling  in  the  aid  of  his  wife  ;  and  the 
trap  proving  successful,  heavy  payment  is  demanded  and 
made,  even  if  the  making  of  it  involves  the  unwary  one 
in  selling  himself.  Two  or  three  cases  of  fine  young 
men,  free  men,  having  thus  to  sell  themselves  into  slavery 
have  occurred  of  late. 

'  Then,  again,  there  has  been  an  epidemic  of  accusa- 
tions of  witchcraft.  Some  have  bought  themselves  off 
by  paying  heavy  fines,  and  thus  escaped  the  drinking  of 
the  poisonous  ordeal  waters,  but  several  have  been  killed 
quite  near  us  during  the  past  month.  One  poor  fellow, 
in  whose  case  I  interfered  only  last  Sunday,  was  killed 
in  the  night,  and  this  notwithstanding  the  assurance  of 
his  chief  that  nothing  should  be  done  till  we  had  talked 
the  "palaver"  in  the  morning.  .  .  . 

'  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  tell  you  the  wickedness 
and  lawlessness  of  these  folk.  Our  nearest  neighbours, 
not  a  hundred  yards  away,  celebrated  New  Year's  Day 
by  having  a  fight  over  fourpence.  After  they  had  so 
chopped  each  other  with  their  long  slashing  knives  that 
they  could  not  continue  the  fight  any  longer,  their  re- 
spective friends  took  to  their  guns,  and  went  out  into  the 
bush  and  began  blazing  at  each  other.  Happily,  it  was 
pouring  with  rain,  and  the  "  fizzing  "  and  "  popping  "  of 
their  old  flint-lock  guns  was  more  than  usually  ridiculous. 

*  During  this  gun-firing  the  cry  was  raised  that  one  of 
the  combatants  was  dead,  and  the  women  commenced 
their  wailing.  Mamma  rushed  round,  found  the  man 
had  only  fainted  from  loss  of  blood,  and  soon  roused 
him  again,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  womenkind.     This 


Bloodshed  at  Bolobo         353 

Losere  is  a  very  wild,  wicked  fellow,  and  when  I  first 
heard  the  wailing  I  fear  I  felt  little  sorrow  at  the 
prospect  of  losing  our  nearest  neighbour.  But  I  soon 
got  over  the  feeling,  and  followed  Patience,  to  help  her 
and  Mr.  Glennie  in  bringing  him  round  ;  for,  bad  as 
these  folk  are,  one  does  not  like  to  see  them  playing  the 
fool  and  killing  each  other  off  for  pots  of  beer. 

*  How  it  is  these  people  have  escaped  the  fate  of  the 
Kilkenny  cats,  I  can't  imagine.  It  can  only  be  explained 
by  the  fact  that  they  are  always  buying  slaves,  and  that 
they  have  not  always  been  so  bloodthirsty  as  they  are 
just  now.  Poor  Bolobo !  I  wish  I  could  see  more 
readiness  to  accept  what  they  know  and  feel  to  be  the 
Truth  which  we  try  to  explain  to  them.  My  heart  is 
very,  very  sad  at  times,  as  I  think  of  them  heaping  up 
judgment  against  themselves. 

*  But,  dear  Lizzie,  I  must  not  run  on  preaching. 
You'll  be  tired.  Til  wind  up  by  again  saying  how  sorry 
I  am  that  I've  not  written  before,  and  that  it  is  so  long 
since  we  heard  from  you.  We  often  wonder  how  you 
are  all  getting  on,  and  wish  it  were  possible  to  have  a 
look  at  you.     God  bless  you,  and  bless  you  all ! ' 

To  THE  Rev,  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

Bolobo,  July  12. 

*  By  the  time  this  reaches  Underbill  I  quite  expect 
that  you  will  be  on  the  spot,  and  have  gladdened  the 
place  by  bringing  your  wife  with  you.  You  do  not  need 
to  be  told  that  you  have  the  prayers  and  good  wishes  of 
your  colleagues,  or  that  they  accord  you  both  a  hearty 
welcome.  We  do  indeed  wish  you  every  good  wish,  and 
pray  that  God  may  help  you  to  help  each  other  to  serve 
Himself  God  be  very  gracious  to  you  both,  my  dear 
Lawson,  and  give  you  grace  to  serve  Him  well,  and 
health  and  strength,  that  you  may  serve  Him  long. 

2  A 


354  Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

'  I  have  just  come  down  river  from  a  visit  to  the 
Loika  and  Aruwimi  rivers,  and  a  run  round  Lake 
Mantumba,  with  Joseph  Clark  and  his  wife.  Health  of 
all  the  friends  along  the  line  was  most  encouraging. 
Your  brother  and  his  wife  were  in  splendid  trim.  My 
wife  has  accompanied  me,  otherwise  I  have  had  the 
"  Peace  "  all  to  myself.  She  joins  me  in  the  heartiest  of 
welcomes  to  you  both.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  October  21. 

*  You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  the  "  Goodwill  "  is  in 
going  order  again.  We  started  out  on  the  27th  of  last 
month  for  a  short  trial  trip  to  Bwemba  (Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Billington's  Station,  thirty  miles  down  river),  intending 
to  come  back  the  following  day.  But  judge  of  our  con- 
sternation when  we  reached  Bwemba,  to  find  that  the 
steamer  which  had  left  our  beach  only  three  hours  before 
ourselves,  had  been  wrecked,  and  the  survivors  had  just 
been  landed,  and  were  then  getting  into  dry  clothes. 

'  The  steamer  was  the  "  Courbet,"  and  was  conveying 
the  Governor  of  the  French  Congo,  Count  de  Brazza, 
down  river  on  his  way  to  Europe.  He  stayed  with  us  the 
night,  and  had  breakfasted  with  us  before  setting  out. 
You  may  judge,  therefore,  of  our  surprise  to  find  him  in 
so  sorry  a  plight,  and  how  glad  we  were  he  was  among 
the  survivors. 

'  It  seems  they  were  just  approaching  Bwemba,  but 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  when  they  struck  a  rock. 
The  rent  in  the  bottom  must  have  been  a  terrible  one, 
for  the  steamer  went  down  in  four  minutes,  sinking  in 
twelve  fathoms  of  water.  The  engineer  was  drowned,  as 
were  also  two  Algerians,  three  Loangos,  and  three 
Senegalese.  The  Governor  was  in  the  water  some 
twenty  minutes,  and   only   narrowly   escaped    with   his 


A  Gallant  Rescue  355 

life.  Though  we  had  set  out  from  Bolobo  with  the  idea 
of  returning  the  following  day,  and  were  but  poorly- 
provided  for  the  longer  journey  to  the  Pool,  we  felt  we 
could  not  do  other  than  go  on  with  the  shipwrecked 
Frenchmen,  and  take  them  to  their  destination.  Thus 
it  came  about  that  the  "  Goodwill "  first  visited  the  Pool ; 
for  previously  she  had  only  journeyed  up  river  from 
Bolobo,  and  her  mission  on  this  occasion  was  one  that 
accorded  very  well  with  her  name.  .  .  . 

'  I  think  I  told  you  of  our  neighbour  Wolo  having 
died— the  old  man  who  had  persisted  time  after  time  in 
burying  living  slaves  with  the  corpses  of  his  dead  people. 
We  have  reason  to  fear  that  several  lives  were  sacrificed 
at  his  funeral,  but  we  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  we  saved  one  poor  woman.  She  had  been  bought 
a  mile  or  two  to  the  north  of  us,  and  as  the  buyers 
thought  we  might  interfere  if  they  brought  her  through 
our  place,  they  decided  to  bring  her  down  by  canoe. 

'Just  as  they  came  opposite  to  our  Station  the 
woman  began  to  shout,  "  They  are  going  to  kill  me  ! 
come  and  take  me,  they  are  going  to  kill  me  ! "  Before 
they  could  gag  her,  our  boys  (school-boys  and  'prentice 
lads)  had  caught  the  alarm,  and  divided  into  two 
parties.  One  took  paddles  and  followed  the  canoe,  and 
the  other  followed  unseen  along  the  path  behind  the 
trees  on  the  river-bank.  The  people  in  the  canoe  (they 
were  only  two  men  besides  the  woman),  finding  them- 
selves chased,  pulled  for  the  shore.  But  when  they 
landed  they  found  themselves  between  those  who  had 
followed  close  behind  and  those  who  had  taken  the  path 
along  the  shore.  Some  of  the  townsmen,  however,  took 
their  part,  pointed  their  guns,  and  defied  our  boys  to  lay 
hands  on  the  woman.  Our  youngsters,  though  they 
were  quite  unarmed,  were  strong  in  numbers  (they  were 


356         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

nearly  forty)  and  in  the  courage  of  a  good  cause,  and 
lifted  the  poor  bound  slave  into  the  boat,  and  returned 
to  our  beach,  not  a  little  elated  with  their  success. 

'  I  must  confess  that  it  was  with  considerable  misgiving 
I  saw  the  boat  set  out.  I  was  too  far  off  to  stop  it, 
even  if  I  had  been  so  inclined,  and  I  was  relieved  to  find 
our  boys  return  without  having  come  to  blows,  and  was 
surprised,  and  naturally  enough  very  well  pleased,  to 
find  they  had  brought  the  poor  woman  with  them. 

'  Among  the  young  people  growing  up  round  us  we 
have  some  really  very  fine,  brave  lads  (some  of  them  are 
fast  getting  too  big  to  be  boys,  but  they  are  not  yet  big 
enough  to  be  men),  and  I  am  not  a  little  proud  of  the 
way  they  have  behaved  on  several  occasions  when  they 
have  been  placed  in  very  trying  circumstances.  They 
have  their  failings,  like  other  lads,  and  often  try  me  by 
their  crooked  ways  and  weaknesses ;  but  they  have  the 
makings  of  brave-hearted,  honest  men,  and  I  am  full  of 
hope  that  God  will  make  use  of  them  in  producing  a  new 
order  of  things  among  their  down-trodden  and  much 
suffering  countrymen.' 

To  Miss  Hartland. 

Bolobo,  January  7,  1895. 

'  I  am  proposing  to  make  an  itinerating  tour  in  the 

neighbourhood  of  the  junction  of  the  Aruwimi  with  the 

Congo,  during  March  and  April.     Two  of  the  members 

of  our  Church  are  from  that  district.     They  were  stolen 

away  by  the  Arabs  some  ten  years  ago,  and  when  I  was 

up  river  last  they  saw  their  people  for  the  first  time  since 

their  towns  had  been  raided  and  burned.     These  youths 

will  serve  as  interpreters,  though  I  fear  they  have  lost  a 

good  deal  of  their  native  language  during  their  long 

stay  with  us.     One  of  them  found,  on  our  visiting  his 

home,  that  his  mother  was  dead.     The   mother  of  the 


Big^  Debts  357 

other   youth   refused    for    some   time    to    believe    her 
long-lost  son  had  really  come  back  again. 

'  We  have  some  young  people  among  us  who  have 
come  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Stanley  Falls  and 
beyond,  and  I  hope  some  day  that  they  may  become 
messengers  to  their  countrymen,  as  Mafuta  and  Disasi 
are  to  theirs.  God  grant  that  out  of  the  scourging 
inflicted  by  the  Arabs  on  this  poor  country  some  good 
may  yet  arise  to  those  who  have  suffered  so  much  !  We 
know  we  have  your  sympathy  and  prayers  in  the  long 
up-hill  struggle  in  which  we  are  engaged.  Our  dis- 
couragements are  very  many,  but  God's  Kingdom  is 
surely  coming,  even  in  this  dark,  dark  land.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Near  Bangala,  April  26. 

'  Mr.  Baynes  must  feel  greatly  worried  with  these 
big  debts  year  after  year.  I  hate  them ;  and,  so  far  as 
I  am  concerned,  I  am  prepared  to  spend  only  such 
money  as  we  have  in  hand,  and  to  stop  as  soon  as  the 
Churches  stop  the  supplies.  Our  share  of  last  year's 
debt  is  over  ;^3000,  and  how  we  are  to  cut  down  to 
that  extent  I  don't  see.  But  if  the  money  does  not 
come  in,  we  shall  have  to  cut  down  expenses  somehow. 

'But  money  matters  are  far  from  being  our  only 
cares.  These  last  few  months  have  been  very  trying 
times,  and  I  have  been  not  a  little  worried.  A  big 
Mission  hke  ours,  with  thirty  men  and  a  good  many 
women,  does  not  run  along  like  a  truck  on  rails.  My 
share  in  keeping  things  going  has  been  harder  than  ever 
of  late — though  He  Who  is  over  all  knows  I  am  far  from 
being  satisfied  with  that  share.  Happily,  I  have  the 
sympathy  of  Mr.  Baynes,  and  you  won't  think  I'm 
"vaunting"  myself  if  I  send  you  an  extract  from  his 
last  letter !    He  writes  : — "  Rest  assured  of  my  brotherly 


35S         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

sympathy  with  you,  amid  the  many  and  constant 
anxieties  and  burdens  which  fall  upon  you,  and  please 
also  remember  that  my  one  great  desire  is  to  help  you 
to  the  utmost  limit  of  my  power  ;  and  never  forget  that 
my  most  implicit  confidence  is  always  placed  in  you, 
and  that  I  am  devoutly  thankful  to  our  Heavenly  Father 
for  giving  us  such  a  wise  and  tried  counsellor  and  such 
a  brave  and  intrepid  leader." 

'  So  you  see,  my  dear  Lizzie,  if  you  do  not  read  much 
about  me  in  the  Herald,  it  is  not  because  I  am  doing 
nothing.  Like  "  Brer  Rabbit,"  I  lie  low.  Just  now  I 
can  do  more  that  way,  and  by  helping  others  to  work, 
than  if  I  tried  to  do  anything  striking  myself. 

'Bangala  is  in  sight,  and  I  must  close.  Put  the 
"shaky"  handwriting  down  to  the  vibration  of  the 
steamer  (to  reduce  which  within  writing  limits,  I  have 
my  paper  on  my  knees),  and  not  to  my  having  become 
a  shaky  old  man — though  I  feel  that  way  inclined  at 
times.  But  you  won't  mind  a  shaky  letter,  and  will 
forgive  me,  I  hope,  for  having  kept  you  waiting  so  long.' 

On  June  3  Grenfell  writes  to  Mr.  Hawkes  from 
Stanley  Pool,  reporting  that  since  his  return  from  his 
recent  voyage  he  has  been  on  his  back  most  of  the 
time,  and  in  three  or  four  days  will  be  starting  in  a 
hammock,  to  attend  the  Committee  meeting  at  Wathen. 

'June  21.  The  new  school,  a  large  iron  building 
given  by  the  late  Sir  Charles  Wathen,  was  opened  last 
Sunday  ;  nearly  three  hundred  people  present.  Our  new 
school  at  Bolobo  was  progressing  in  a  very  promising 
way  when  I  left,  and  I  am  hoping  I  shall  find  the  roof 
fixed  when  I  get  back.' 


Mr.  White  Prospecting      359 

To  Mrs.  Greenhough. 

Bolobo,  November  13. 

*  This  last  voyage  from  which  I  have  just  returned, 

has  been  a  very  interesting  one,  being  my  first  to  the 

district  occupied  by  the  Arabs  since  their  submission  to 

the  State.     I  think  I  told  you  in  my  last  letter  of  the 

hope  at  some  future  date  of  leaving  two  of  our  Christian 

youths  among  their  people,  in  the  district  of  the  Aruwimi. 

This  intention  I  realized  on  this  journey,  and  I  am  very 

hopeful  that  the  "  Kingdom  "  may  be  advanced  in  some 

small  measure  thereby. 

'  I  am  sorry  to  lose  the  help  of  the  lads  in  the  work 

more  immediately  under  my  care,  for  they  are  among  our 

most  intelligent  helpers,  and  were  with  me  all  through 

the  Lunda  journey.    They  were  stolen  from  their  homes 

by  the  Arabs  about  the  time  of  our  first  journey  in  the 

"Peace,"  and  never  saw  their  people  again  till  I  took 

them  up  river,  a  little  more  than  a  year  ago.     I  am 

hoping  to  pay  them  a  visit  early  in  the  coming  year, 

and  shall  be  very  glad  if  I  am  able  to  send  you  a  good 

report  of  their  life  in  the  midst  of  their  old  surroundings, 

after  an  absence  of  ten  years  or  so. 

'  This  voyage  has  also  been  very  interesting  to  me, 

because  we  were   able   to   arrange   for   Mr.  White  to 

provisionally   occupy   a    point    ten    miles   this    side   of 

Stanley  Falls.     We  left  him  with  a  boat  and  a  crew 

of  a  dozen  Bopoto ,:  boys,  so  that  after  spending  a  few 

weeks  prospecting  he  might  follow  the  steamer   down 

river.     I  have  since  had  a  letter  from  Mr.  White,  telling 

me  he  is  getting  on  capitally  with  his  new  friends,  and 

that  there  is  every  prospect  of  finding  a  magnificent 

field  for  mission  work.     He  also  tells  me  that  his  boat's 

crew  have  run  away,  and  that  instead  of  carrying  out 

his  plan  of  coming  down  river  in  the  boat,  he  will  take 


J 


60         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 


passage  in  some  returning  steamer;  for  we  had  arranged 
to  meet  early  in  the  year,  to  return,  if  the  report  was  a 
favourable  one,  with  the  small  frame  house  Mr.  White 
had  been  preparing  for  going  forward. 

'  Before  starting  I  had  written  to  Mr.  Baynes,  pro- 
posing that  we  should  be  allowed  to  occupy  in  a  very 
temporary  manner  some  point  of  observation  at  the 
front,  so  that  we  might  leisurely  determine  upon  the 
most  promising  field.  This  would  allow  of  our  making 
a  move,  and  in  a  measure  fulfilling  the  long  outstanding 
promise  of  a  new  station — a  station  that  has  figured  as 
"Monjembo"  in  the  last  three  reports,  I  think.  It 
would  at  the  same  time  be  a  move  that  would  involve 
us  in  but  very  little  additional  expense.' 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

Bolobo,  December  23. 

'Yours  of  November  22   to  hand  two  days  since. 

Also  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  our  brother  Davies. 

We  are  very,  very  downhearted  about  all  these  losses 

at  Wathen.    I  am  indeed  sorry  for  his  parents.    The  loss 

after  loss  the  Wathen  staff  have  had  of  late  must  make 

them   feel  very,  very  lonely.      Dr.   Webb   and    Philip 

Davies   dead ;    Cameron    at   the   gates   of  death,    and 

Bentley  very  sick,  within  one  short  year,  is  a  series  that 

brings  a  train  of  most  serious  thoughts.' 

To  Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes. 

Arthington  Station,  Stanley  Pool,  January  23,  1896. 
•  The  sad  story  of  the  Stokes  execution  has  prepared 
the  public  mind  for  the  serious  consideration  of  Congo 
State  affairs.  Without  the  very  emphatic  introduction 
afforded  by  Lothaire's  high-handedness,  it  is  likely,  I 
think,  that  mere  missionary's  tales  might  have  fallen 
very  flat.     We  have  long  believed  that  the  chief  points 


Nevr  Station  at  Yakusu     361 

in  the  indictment  were  true — the  difficulty  is  in  the 
matter  oi  proof ,  and  even  now  it  will  be  hard  to  sub- 
stantiate many  of  the  accusations,  notwithstanding  the 
moral  certainty  of  their  being  true.  .  .  . 

*  The  State  is  trying  to  do  too  much.  It  cannot 
administer  its  million  of  square  miles  in  a  proper  manner 
for  the  mere  bagatelle  represented  by  its  budget.  .  .  . 

*  It  is  their  first  attempt  at  colonization.  If  they 
knew  as  well  as  the  Britisher  how  hard  it  is  to  shave 
a  tender  chin  with  a  cross-cut  saw,  they  would 
have  adopted  other  methods  for  lightening  their  fiscal 
responsibilities — or,  they  would  have  been  content  to 
allow  things  to  go  more  slowly. 

*  I  leave  on  the  27th  for  Stanley  Falls.' 

To  Miss  Hartland. 

Sargent  Station,  Yakusu,  near  Stanley  Falls,  March  10. 

*  I  am  so  often  journeying  to  and  fro  that  my 
opportunities  for  letter-writing  are  less  than  the  average, 
and  my  correspondence,  consequently,  is  in  a  chronic 
state  of  arrears.  However,  while  we  are  lying  oiT  the 
beach  of  our  new  station  waiting  for  Mr.  White  to  get 
things  into  some  sort  of  shape  before  we  leave  him,  I 
hope  to  write  to  a  few  of  my  friends,  and,  if  possible, 
save  the  remnants  of  my  reputation,  and  prove  I  am  not 
altogether  forgetful  of  old  associations.  This  is  the  first 
attempt  in  this  direction — in  fact,  is  my  first  letter 
headed  Sargent  Station. 

'  We  are  some  twelve  miles  west  of  Stanley  Falls, 
and  just  at  the  confluence  of  the  Lindi  with  the  Congo. 
The  Lindi  is  the  river  we  knew  at  first  as  the  Mbura, 
and  that  about  which  Mr.  Arthington  used  to  write  in 
the  early  days  of  the  Mission.  Yakusu,  though  only  a 
small  place   compared  with    many  others   open   to  us. 


362         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

containing  as  it  does  but  some  four  hundred  people  or 
so,  is,  in  my  estimation,  the  most  promising  of  them  all. 
The  people  appear  to  be  in  a  transition  stage,  and  trying 
to  get  out  of  the  old  order  of  things.  I  am  hoping  we 
have  arrived  at  the  opportune  moment  for  directing 
them  into  the  new. 

'Yakusu,  without  having  come  directly  under  the 
influence  of  the  Arabs,  being  situated  about  half  way 
between  the  important  settlements  at  Rome  and  Stanley 
Falls  (where  Arab  schools  are  found),  has  indirectly 
been  subjected  to  very  considerable  influences  in  favour 
of  civilization  and  education.  It  is  true  these  influences 
are  not  always  favourable  to  the  main  purpose  of  our 
work  ;  but,  having  regard  to  the  awful  debasement  of 
the  people,  we  hail  any  upward  tendency  on  their  part 
as  a  reason  for  hoping  they  may  have  their  eyes  opened 
to  their  highest  and  spiritual  good.  When,  as  at  this 
place,  they  begin  to  build  clay  houses  instead  of  the 
old-time  huts  of  mats  and  palm  fronds,  and  to  wear 
clothes  instead  of  going  naked,  or  practically  so,  and 
when  they  are  anxious  to  be  taught  the  mysteries  of  a 
book,  as  these  people  are,  the  times  are  beginning  to 
change.  May  our  gracious  God  speedily  usher  in  a  new 
era  for  them,  for  they  have  sore  need  ! 

'  You  may  have  heard,  perhaps,  that  the  "  Goodwill  " 
left  Mr.  White  at  Yakusu  in  October  last,  and  that 
he  stayed  till  Christmas,  when  he  went  down  river 
again,  to  bring  up  the  material  prepared  for  his  first 
dwelling-house.  As  he  could  not  take  his  few  belongings 
down  river  with  him,  he  handed  over  his  doorless  hut 
and  its  contents  to  the  care  of  the  Chief,  telling  him  that 
if  everything  was  found  all  right  on  his  return  he  would 
take  it  as  evidence  of  the  sincerity  of  the  people  when 
they  invited  him  to  stay   in  their  town  ;    and,  on  the 


DEPARTURE    OF   THE   S.S.   'GOODWILL'   FROM    BOPOTO 

TO    FOUND   YAKUSU    STATION. 

Photo:  Rev.  M'ln.  Forfcitt. 


MR.   AND    MRS.   GRENFELL   ON   THE    S.S.   'PEACE,'   ARUWIMI   RIVER, 
Photo:  Rev.  H.  Sutton  Smith. 


Fataki's  Wedding  363 

contrary,  if  his  things  were  stolen,  he  would  take  it  as  a 
sign  they  did  not  want  him,  and  would  go  elsewhere. 

*  After  staying  nearly  two  months  at  Monsembe,  we 
picked  him  up  again  in  the  "  Goodwill,"  and  brought  him 
here,  together  with  his  building  material,  four  days  ago. 
He  found  everything  as  it  had  been  left — the  unfinished 
tin  of  sugar,  the  few  fathoms  of  cloth,  and  the  small 
supply  of  brass  wire,  all  untouched.  This  being  the  case, 
our  crew  soon  disembarrassed  the  "  Goodwill "  of  the 
timber  and  planks,  and  the  natives,  after  dancing  and 
singing  a  most  emphatic  welcome,  were  soon  busy 
carrying  them  up  the  steps  cut  in  the  face  of  the  thirty- 
foot  cliff,  on  the  edge  of  which  their  village  stands.  .  .  . 

'  Stanley  Falls  Station  is  within  easy  reach,  and  as 
White  is  on  good  terms  with  the  seven  or  eight  officers 
there,  he  will  not  be  far  from  help — in  fact,  in  a  recent 
case  of  serious  illness  they  sent  to  him  for  aid.  We  are 
hoping  the  "  Goodwill "  will  take  Mrs.  White  up  river  to 
join  her  husband  in  July.  The  Whiteheads,  too,  I  trust, 
will  be  free  to  join  them  then.' 

To  Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  April  20. 

'Among  the   negatives   I    sent  you   in   the  box  I 

despatched  at  the  same  time  as  my  unfortunate  letter, 

was  one  of  the  wedding-breakfast  group  at  Bolobo,  on 

Christmas   morning.      The   bride   and  bridegroom    are 

seated  on  chairs  on  board  the  "  Peace."     The  latter  was 

taken  from  his  home  in  the  Manyema  country  by  the 

Arabs  some  ten  years  ago.    The  name  of  Fataki  was  given 

to  him  by  his  captors,  but  he  is  mostly  known  among 

us  as  Mbala,  Mbala  being  the  name  of  a  native  chief 

whose  village  is  some  three  miles  to  the  south  of  us, 

and  to  whom  Fataki  used  to  pay  a  visit  each  week,  to 

tell  him  and  his  people  something  of  the  good  things  he 


364         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

himself  had  learned.  So  intimate  did  Fataki  become 
with  Mbala  that  he  came  to  be  known  by  his  name,  and 
names  on  the  Congo  are  often  acquired  in  this  com- 
plimentary way.  As  a  result  of  Fataki's  influence, 
Mbala  came  to  us  the  other  day,  asking  that  we  would 
send  him  a  teacher  to  reside  in  his  town.  Our  Mbala 
is  a  good,  faithful  fellow,  and  we  are  full  of  hopes  for  his 
future.  His  wife  comes  from  the  Kasai,  and  is  a 
wonderfully  busy,  helpful  woman.  I  know  of  no  better 
answer  to  the  "  unutterable  laziness  "  of  the  negro  than 
she  furnishes.  She  was  chief  laundress  among  our  girls, 
and  went  to  her  husband  with  quite  a  nice  little  portion 
in  the  shape  of  "  brass  rods  "  that  she  had  earned.  She 
is  not  a  member  of  our  Church,  but  is  a  real  good  girl 
— in  her  heart  she  is  all  right,  but,  like  lots  of  good 
folk  at  home,  is  not  able  to  say  very  much  about 
"  faith "  and  "  regeneration,"  and  other  mysteries  of 
Christianity.  .  .  . 

'  Loleka  is  now  my  chief  carpenter  ;  he  came  into 
my  hands  as  a  very  little  bit  of  a  boy  some  nine  years 
ago.  If  he  were  as  good  as  he  is  intelligent  and  strong, 
I  should  be  much  happier  on  his  account.  I  have  had 
not  a  little  difficulty  in  keeping  him  out  of  the  native 
fights  among  our  neighbours.  He  is  as  strong  as  an  ox, 
and  when  he  gets  angry  makes  a  weapon  of  a  stick 
other  men  find  it  troublesome  to  lift.  While  I  was  away 
a  short  time  ago  he  fought  some  five  or  six  State 
soldiers,  and  I  thought  he  would  have  to  go  to  prison, 
but  after  tendering  his  apologies  and  promises  for  the 
future,  I  managed  to  get  him  off.  (I'm  not  quite  sure 
of  his  opponents.)  Big  as  he  is,  he  is,  happily,  willing 
to  listen  to  Patience,  who  manages  him,  all  things  con- 
sidered, wonderfully  well.  If  he  comes  to  good,  it  will 
be  largely  by  her  influence.  .  .  . 


Rosew^ood  Brick-moulds     365 

'  On  looking  over  the  preceding  sheets,  I  find  them 
so  full  of  crudities  that  I  do  not  like,  my  dear  Joseph, 
the  idea  of  sending  them  in  their  present  form.  How- 
ever, I  feel  sure,  if  you  could  only  look  down  on  Bolobo, 
and  see  how  many  and  varied  are  the  cares  that  fall  to 
a  missionary's  lot,  you  would  forgive  me  for  excusing 
myself  from  putting  them  into  better  form. 

*  I  think  I  told  you  that  we  were  removing  our 
printing-press  from  Lukolela  to  this  place.  It  is  now 
installed  in  part  of  the  basement  of  my  new  house,  and 
is  there  in  full  swing,  under  Mr.  Scrivener's  care — four 
native  comps.  Mr.  Scrivener  has  just  completed  the 
new  printing-office,  but  he  is  going  to  make  a  residence 
of  it  for  the  present,  and  leave  the  press  in  its  temporary 
quarters.  During  his  stay  here  he  has  hitherto  occupied 
the  house  built  for  myself.  Miss  de  Hailes  is  living 
there  till  I  can  get  the  house  recently  occupied  by  the 
Glennies  ready  for  her.  It  has  to  be  considerably 
modified,  and  re-roofed.  I  am  also  engaged  in  making 
bricks  for  the  new  house  to  be  erected  for  our  lady- 
workers,  of  whom  a  second,  I  believe,  is  on  the  point  of 
being  sent  out.  Our  brick  press  (we  press  all  our  bricks 
the  second  day  after  they  have  been  moulded)  having 
gone  wrong,  I  have  taken  the  opportunity  furnished  by 
the  moulders  being  busy  cutting  fuel  and  burning  a  kiln, 
to  have  the  press  renovated  ;  we  are  also  making  seven 
new  moulds  (only  fancy,  we  use  rosewood  for  the  pur- 
pose). All  our  brick  clay  has  to  come  by  boat  from  a 
point  a  mile  and  a  half  down  stream. 

*  In  addition  to  brickmaking  and  building,  I  have  the 
steamer  men  to  look  after.  They  are  busy  just  now 
fitting  the  new  propeller-shaft  and  propellers  for  the 
"  Peace " — work  that  calls  for  a  considerable  amount 
of  supervision.     We  have  also  five  pairs  of  pit  sawyers 


366         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

at  work,  and  getting  in  timber  for  these  men  and  looking 
after  them  is  another  of  our  tasks. 

'  Bolobo  has  not  only  its  own  special  staff  to  pro- 
vide for,  but  also  the  steamer  and  press-workers,  and  is 
thus  fast  becoming  quite  a  big  Station — that  is,  as  Congo 
Stations  go.  Did  I  tell  you  that  last  year  we  earned 
over  ;^500  by  carrying  freight  for  other  Missions  by 
our  steamer  ?  Even  this  meant  work — freights  are  not 
so  plentiful  this  year,  so  we  shall  not  do  so  well. 

'  We  have  services  in  our  school  house  every  evening 
— a  day  school  of  between  fifty  and  sixty  scholars.  Miss 
de  Hailes  also  carries  on  night-school  work,  and  visits 
the  villages  most  days.  We  were  over  twenty  who  sat 
down  to  the  Lord's  Table  on  the  first  Sunday  of  the 
month.  God  grant  us  grace  to  let  our  light  shine  very 
brightly  in  this  dark  place ! ' 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  April  24. 

*  I  must  not  run  on  farther  without  telling  you  of  the 
event  of  the  month — the  arrival  of  my  youngest  daughter 
on  the  14th  inst.     All  going  well.  .  .  . 

'  For  worry  and  vexation  of  spirit  commend  me  to 
the  maintenance  of  a  steamer ;  the  running  of  it  is  a 
mere  bagatelle.     I  speak  the  things  that  I  know.* 

During  the  ensuing  months  Grenfell  made  several 
journeys  to  Stanley  Pool.  At  the  beginning  of  July  he 
met  the  Governor-General  there,  who  was  proposing  to 
visit  Bolobo  in  a  fortnight  ;  and  Grenfell  hastened  home 
in  order  to  arrange  a  suitable  reception,  in  which  the 
school-children  would  take  important  part.  In  August 
he  again  went  down  to  the  Pool  to  meet  Bentley,  who 
accompanied  him  in  a  voyage  to  Stanley  Falls,  inspecting 
the  up-river  stations.  This  voyage,  to  which  references 
arc  made  below,  carried  him  well  on  into  the  autumn. 


Women  have  a  Way        367 

To  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

Bolobo,  November  9. 

'  I  heard  with  gravest  concern  of  your  going  down 
with  fever.  I  was  glad,  however,  that  the  serious  news 
was  quickly  followed  by  word  of  the  crisis  being  safely 
past,  and  of  your  preparing  for  home-going.  By  this 
time  I  trust  you  are  more  like  your  former  self  again, 
and  feeling  equal  to  going  on  board  the  "  Albertville." 

'  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  Mrs.  Forfeitt  for  having 
written  so  fully  on  the  various  items  of  business  calling 
for  attention.  That  she  should  have  had  time  for  it  all, 
and  for  nursing  you  also,  is  a  marvel,  I  shall  be  relieved 
to  hear  that  she  has  stpod  the  exceptional  strain  without 
breaking  down  as  soon  as  the  pressure  was  relieved. 
Women  seem  to  have  a  way  all  their  own  of  holding  on 
through  a  period  of  stress,  and  of  putting  off  "giving 
way  "  till  there  is  time  for  it.  .  .  . 

'I  am  writing  Mr.  Baynes,  sending  plans  of  Mun- 
dungu  and  Yakusu  (Sargent  Station)  sites,  and  asking 
him  to  concert  with  you  for  continuing  the  negotiations 
with  Brussels.  .  .  . 

'  Here  at  Bolobo  I  am  trying  to  get  things  forward 
in  readiness  for  commencing  a  house  for  Clark  as  soon 
as  the  dry  weather  commences — the  rains,  however,  are 
exceptionally  heavy,  stopping  all  timber-getting  and 
spoiling  many  bricks.  Field  also  is  talking  of  building, 
but  I  imagine  Howell's  case  is  more  pressing.  Just  how 
it  will  be  arranged  is  not  clear,  ...  I  have  never  recon- 
ciled myself  to  the  idea  of  your  living  in  one  end  of  a 
store.' 

On  page  170  of  George  Greiifell  and  the  Congo,  Sir 
Harry  Johnston  writes  :  '  Much  of  Grenfell's  preliminary 
geographical  work  had  been  published  by  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  in  October,  1886,  accompanied  by 


368  Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

his  notes.  In  1887  they  pubhshed  his  chart  of  the 
Congo  basin,  and  very  appropriately  awarded  to  him  in 
that  year  the  Founder's  medal' 

Thereafter,  his  work  was  watched  with  the  closest 
interest  by  the  first  geographers  in  Europe.  In  a  notable 
tribute  written  for  The  Missionary  Herald,  Dr.  Scott 
Keltic  affirms  that  but  for  his  extreme  modesty  Grenfell 
might  have  been  one  of  the  best  known  of  British 
travellers.  To  Dr.  Keltie's  interest  in  Africa,  and  his 
respect  for  Grenfell's  judgment,  the  reader  is  indebted 
for  the  following  important  letter  :  — 

To  J.  S.  Keltie,  Esq., 

Secretary  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. 

Bolobo,  Congo  State,  November  25,  1896. 

'Yours  of  July  13  reached  this  place  just  after 
I  had  started  on  a  two  months'  journey  to  Stanley 
Falls,  or  it  would  have  been  replied  to  ere  this  ;  but 
even  now  that  the  occasion  serves  for  a  reply,  I  am  sorry 
I  cannot  give  you  the  details  for  which  you  ask.  The 
fact  is,  Bolobo  is  two  hundred  miles  from  the  district 
where  the  reported  cruelties  have  taken  place,  and  all 
the  information  I  have  is  indirect,  and  is  mainly  such  as 
I  see  has  already  been  published  in  the  newspapers  at 
home. 

'  In  this  neighbourhood  it  is  impossible  for  the  State 
even  to  lightly  tax  the  people,  much  less  can  they 
seriously  coerce  them,  for  at  the  very  first  appearance 
of  restraint  they  seek  refuge  on  the  French  side  of  the 
river.  A  few  years  ago  there  was  scarcely  a  village  of 
importance  on  the  French  side  for  upwards  of  four 
hundred  miles  beyond  Stanley  Pool,  now  there  are 
several,  and  mainly  formed  by  people  who  have  fled  from 
State  administration.     As  the  French  do  not  attempt  to 


Fleeing"  fpom  Taxation      369 

"  administer,"  and  as  the  natives  do  not  like  to  have 
their  old-time  "  liberties "  curbed  in  even  the  slightest 
degree,  they  simply  cross  the  river,  and  rejoice  in 
absolute  "  freedom." 

*  The  policy  of  letting  the  people  alone  is  a  very  wise 
one  for  the  French,  for  it  is  resulting  in  their  securing  a 
considerable  population  for  their  comparatively  unpeopled 
bank  of  the  river.  When  the  topic  has  been  referred  to 
in  conversation  with  officers  of  the  State,  the  reply  has 
been,  "  We  might  just  as  well  be  without  people  as  with 
them  if  they  will  do  nothing  for  us."  The  position  is  a 
very  difficult  one  ;  but,  although  the  people  may  not  be 
worth  a  great  deal  to  the  State  to-day,  prospectively 
they  are  of  immense  importance,  and  a  wise  policy 
might  stop  the  steady  migration  to  the  other  side. 

'Beyond  the  confluence  of  the  Mubangi  with  the 
main  stream,  where  the  active  collection  of  rubber  and 
imposition  of  taxes  commences,  there  is  no  safe  "  other 
side."  The  natives  of  Irebo  and  of  places  near  the 
Equator,  however,  drop  down  stream  in  their  canoes, 
and  then  cross  over.  Below  the  Mubangi  the  Adminis- 
tration is  by  no  means  oppressive,  and  the  real  grievances 
of  the  people  are  very  few ;  but  as  soon  as  one  reaches 
the  point  where  both  banks  of  the  river  are  in  the  hands 
of  the  State,  one  enters  upon  the  district  whence  come 
all  the  recent  reports  of  cruelty — reports  that  may  be 
slightly  exaggerated  here  and  there,  but  in  the  main,  I 
fear,  only  too  true.  In  fact,  with  the  system  of  commis- 
sions on  revenue  collected  and  a  practically  uncontrolled 
soldiery  as  tax-gatherers,  it  would  be  strange  if  brutal 
excesses  were  not  resorted  to  for  the  extraction  of  the 
last  possible  penny.  A  million  square  miles  cannot  be 
equitably  administered  and  made  to  pay  its  way  by 
means  of  a  mere  handful  of  officials  (I  don't  think  they 

2  B 


370         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

average  one  for  every  two  thousand  square  miles),  with 
the  help  of  a  very  superficially  civilized  soldiery. 

*  In  my  estimation,  there  is  another  question  not  one 
whit  less  important  than  that  I  have  just  touched  upon — 
I  mean  that  of  slavery,  for  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to 
the  encouragement  of  slave-raiding  by  the  State  system 
of  purchase  and  liberation.  I  suppose  that  technically 
the  State  can  avoid  the  charge  of  "  slavery,"  but  it  is 
morally  responsible  for  a  long  chain  of  evils  which  the 
system  drags  in  its  trail  over  a  very  wide  district. 

'  If  both  the  purchasing  of  slaves  and  the  giving  of 
commissions  on  revenue  collected  could  become  things 
of  the  past,  I  should  be  able  to  look  forward  with  hope 
to  the  future  of  the  Congo  State.  I  know  that  revenue 
must  be  raised,  and  that  a  conscription  is  often  a 
necessity  ;  but  I  believe  both  men  and  money  could 
be  obtained  without  involving  such  terrible  evils  as  I 
now  deprecate — not  perhaps  sufficient  for  the  carrying 
out  of  the  Congo  programme  at  the  present  apparent 
rate  of  progress,  but  certainly  in  a  manner  that  would 
be  immensely  more  for  the  ultimate  benefit  of  the 
country. 

'  Going  up  river  on  the  journey  to  which  I  referred 
at  the  head  of  this  letter  (Consul  Pickersgill,  C.B.,  of 
Loanda,  was  on  board,  and  made  copious  notes),  we 
followed  for  some  fourteen  hundred  miles  in  the  wake 
of  the  Governor-General,  who  is  still  up  river  on  a  tour 
of  inspection.  It  is,  I  think,  very  evident,  from  the  fact 
that  two  Belgians  have  been  sentenced  to  considerable 
terms  of  imprisonment,  and  the  powers  of  individual 
agents  very  generally  curtailed,  as  well  as  from  the 
fact  that  very  considerable  reductions  in  the  rubber-tax 
have  been  made  at  several  points  we  visited,  that  the 
evils  which  have  been  attracting  so  much  attention  of 


Twenty  Hands  Cut  off      371 

late  have  already  moved  the  authorities  to  take  action. 
It  remains  to  be  seen  if  the  action  will  prove  to  be 
adequate. 

'  After  all  we  had  seen  of  the  trend  towards  a  better 
state  of  affairs  in  general,  and  of  the  good  results  of  the 
policy  of  Baron  Dhanis  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Stanley 
Falls,  we  were  greatly  disappointed  to  find,  on  our  return 
to  the  Equator,  that  only  a  week  before  our  arrival  there 
one  of  the  missionaries,  on  visiting  a  native  village  shortly 
after  the  passage  of  a  body  of  soldiers,  counted  more  than 
twenty  hands  they  had  cut  off  as  many  victims — some  of 
them  evidently  children.  If  this  thing  is  going  on  while 
the  Governor  General  is  still  up  river  on  a  journey  of 
inspection,  and  at  places  comparatively  close  to  a 
mission  station,  who  can  say  what  is  going  on  in  the 
wide  districts  whence  no  reports  can  possibly  come  ? 

'  The  French  seem  to  be  paying  very  little  attention 
to  those  parts  of  their  territory  that  come  under  our 
observation,  but  they  seem  to  be  increasingly  active  in 
their  northern  and  north-eastern  territories.  Apparently 
they  are  only  developing  their  Congo  province  just  so 
much  as  may  be  needful  for  making  it  of  use  as  a  means 
for  pushing  farther. 

*  I  heard  a  month  ago  of  Lieutenant  Livtard  having 
reached  Tambora  (about  5°  25'  north  latitude,  and 
27°  45'  longitude),  but  scarcely  gave  it  credence.  I 
have  just  heard,  however,  from  an  officer  recently 
down  from  that  neighbourhood,  that  the  French  are 
undoubtedly  on  one  of  the  Nile  tributaries,  though 
not  in  any  great  force.  Lieutenant  Livtard,  after 
pushing  his  way  to  Tambora,  seems  to  have  established 
himself,  and  sat  down  to  wait  for  reinforcements,  just 
as  the  State  seems  to  have  done  at  Dongu  ;  only  the 
State  seems  to  have  settled    down  very  seriously,  and 


372  Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

made  a  really  strong  position.  Two  or  three  hundred 
Senegalis  passed  up  river  some  four  months  ago,  forming 
part  of  a  French  expedition  against  the  Dervishes,  it  was 
said  ;  but  whether  they  have  yet  come  into  contact  with 
them  is  very  doubtful.  I  am  told  there  are  several 
officers  and  quite  an  accumulation  of  stores  at  Brazzaville, 
waiting  for  a  steamer  to  take  them  up  the  Mubangi. 

'  To  revert  to  State  news.  I  suppose  you  have  heard 
of  the  further  revolt  of  the  Batetelas,  on  the  Upper 
Sankuru.  Report  says  there  are  Arabs  mixed  up  in 
this  affair,  and  that  Governor  VVahis,  instead  of  coming 
down  in  the  steamer  sent  up  for  him,  has  taken 
command  of  the  operations  for  quelling  the  revolt. 
While  we  were  at  the  Falls  the  Governor  was  on  his 
way  south  to  Nyangvve  and  Kasongo.  We  learned 
that  Baron  Dhanis  intended  shortly  to  follow  the  fifteen 
hundred  soldiers  he  had  sent  northwards,  but  we  have 
since  heard  that  plans  have  been  changed. 

*  I  fear  you  will  be  wishing,  when  you  read  all  this, 
as  you  did  when  you  read  my  last,  that  I  wrote  more 
definitely.  It  is  most  difficult,  I  can  assure  you,  to 
get  exact  news ;  however,  the  foregoing  may  give  you 
a  general  idea  of  the  trend  of  things  that  may  not  be 
without  some  interest,  especially  to  one  whose  interest 
in  things  African  is  so  keen  as  your  own.' 

To  THE  Rev.  Holman  Bentley. 

Bolobo,  December  7. 

'Yours  of  a  month  ago  reached  me  on  the  5th.  I 
had  heard  a  few  days  previously  of  the  death  of  one  of 
the  boys  accompanying  you.  I  know  you  will  have  felt 
it  keenly  to  have  to  bury  him  on  his  way  home. 

'  I  note  what  you  say  about  the  Commission.^     I'm 

*  Tlie  Commission  for  the  Protection  of  the  Natives. 


Gommission  Continued 


o/o 


sorry  I  cannot  get  up  much  enthusiasm  about  it.  Who 
is  to  pay  travelling  expenses  ?  I  fear  it  is  an  unworkable 
machine.  There  is  not  one  of  the  Commissioners  who 
is  not  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  the  district  whence 
all  the  trouble  is  reported,  and  by  the  time  we  could  set 
foot  in  it  to  make  inquiries  we  should  find  ourselves 
face  to  face  with  interested  officials  prepared  to  block 
our  way  at  every  turn.  Seeing  that  most  of  the  charges 
in  the  papers  could  be  substantiated,  it  was  needful  to 
do  something.  What  better  to  allay  the  excitement 
than  the  appointment  of  a  Commission  of  Missionaries  ? 
And  what  steps  could  have  been  taken  that  would 
interfere  less  with  the  powers  that  be  out  here  ? 

*  If  the  State  is  in  earnest  about  reforming  these 
abuses,  it  can  do  it  ;  if  it  is  not  in  earnest,  no  mere 
commission  of  impotent  missionaries  can  make  it.  I 
see  a  new  "  Inspector "  has  been  appointed  ;  but  there 
is  not  much  to  be  hoped  for  from  a  man  who  can't  speak 
the  native  language.  I  have  heard  interpreters  tell  the 
most  astounding  things  to  interlocutors.  The  State  is 
largely  handicapped  in  its  work  in  outlying  districts  by 
rascally  interpreters  and  lawless  soldiers,  and  a  new 
system  will  have  to  be  inaugurated  before  things  are 
mended. 

'  As  yet  I  have  heard  nothing  more  than  yourself ; 
in  fact,  know  of  nothing  excepting  what  has  reached  me 
through  the  papers.  It  may  be  that  we  shall  be  invested 
with  more  possibilities  than  appear ;  if  so,  so  much  the 
worse  for  our  personal  comfort. 

*  We  have  been  expecting  the  Governor  down  for 
some  ten  days  or  more,  but  have  just  heard  that  he  is 
staying  up  country,  to  take  command  of  the  operations 
against  the  Batetelas.  I  shall  certainly  broach  the 
subject  of  the  recent  Equatorville  killing  and  mutilation, 


374  Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

if  I  only  get  the  chance.  Till  one  has  received  some 
sort  of  authorization  and  had  some  sort  of  a  conference 
with  his  colleagues,  he  can  hardly  act  officially.  If 
things  move  smartly  it  might,  perhaps,  be  managed  in 
three  months  !  We  are  practically  very  much  farther 
apart  than  if  we  had  been  scattered  over  the  capitals  of 
Europe  before  the  days  of  the  telegraph  !  My  dear 
Bentley,  I  shan't  say  all  I  think,  even  to  you  ;  if  I  were 
to  say  all  I  think,  I  might  be  called  rude. 

'  Stephens  left  ten  days  ago  in  the  "  Goodwill "  for 
Bopoto.  I  have  just  had  a  letter  from  White — he  has 
been  poorly  again.  I  am  glad  to  learn  Lawson  Forfeitt 
is  so  much  better  ;  also  to  find  the  health  report  from 
Wathen  satisfactory.  Greetings  from  wife  and  self  for 
you  all. 

'  P.S. — Baptismal  service  yesterday.  Mora  and 
Nsamo  added  to  the  Church.  Day-school  average  over 
120.  Sunday-school  yesterday  150.  We  are  greatly 
encouraged.' 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  December  14,  1896. 

'  The  Governor-General  is  still  up  river,  and  not  a 
word  of  news  trickles  down.  We  shall  all  be  relieved  to 
know  that  things  are  going  well  in  the  south-east. 
What  the  country  needs  is  a  policy  strong  enough  to 
keep  the  Arabs  and  the  unruly  in  check  ;  and  one  that 
is  more  ready  to  wait  for  the  natural  development  of  the 
country  than  the  recent  one  has  been — a  policy  more 
ready  to  "  make  haste  slowly." 

'  Your  cover  containing  pages  of  Spectator  reached 
me  on  November  20  ;  the  Spectator  itself  came  yesterday, 
and  is  as  yet  our  most  recent  news.  Many  thanks  for 
the  sending  of  these  special  sheets  in  advance.  Bolobo 
is  unitedly  grateful,  and  Bolobo  ii>  quite  a  community 


Fag'g'ing'  away  375 

now.  As  you  may  well  imagine,  we  are  impatient!}' 
waiting  for  the  next  instalment  of  news — October  :: 
leaving  us,  apparently,  on  the  eve  of  important  develop- 
ments. 

'  I  spoke  to  Mr.  Howell  about  %-our  "  St.  John  on 
Haiti " — he  left  the  book  behind,  with  instructions  for  it 
to  be  sent  to  you,  but  instead  it  has  been  sent  after 
him  here.  It  is  already  packed  ready  for  going  back  to 
England.  He  is  ver>'  sott\-  for  the  mischance.  I  am 
glad  you  like  Howell  ;  I  find  him  a  real  help.  He 
is  away  just  now  at  Bopoto,  and  I  expect  he  will  be 
bringing  Mr.  and  Mrs.  \Vm.  Forfeitt  down  when  he 
returns  with  the  "  Goodwill."  say  in  a  week's  time.  Mr. 
Field  is  away  on  the  "  Peace  "  to  the  Pool,  but  should  be 
here  for  Christmas,  on  his  way  up  the  Mubangi.  I'm 
fagging  away  at  accounts,  correspondence  and  general 
drudgery,  ajid  have  more  than  I  shall  ov^ertake  by 
February,  when  I  expect  to  leave  once  more  for  Sargent 
Station.  These  journeys  of  mine  so  break  up  the  years 
that  they  slip  by  at  an  alarming  pace.  Here  we  are  on 
the  threshold  of  1S97,  and  I  have  yet  scarcely  become 
accustomed  to  uTiting  i  S96  ! 

*  Unhappily,  the  times  are  moving  faster  than  we 
are.  Between  1SS7  and  1S90  (my  pre\-ious  term),  we 
managed  to  open  three  new  stations.  Six  more  years 
have  gone,  and  we  have  only  opened  one  !  True,  we 
have  had  a  series  of  "  hard  times,"  but  we  have  also  had 
the  Centennial.  However,  if  we  have  not  been  marching 
to  the  front  very  vigorously  we  have  been  strengthening 
our  position  all  along  the  line,  and  securing  better  con- 
ditions of  life. 

'  Already,  it  seems  to  me.  the  better  conditions  are 
resulting  in  more  work  being  done.  In  the  early  days 
of  a  mission   in    a  countrv  like  this   a    good    deal    of 


^^^         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

"  roughing  it "  is  necessary  ;  but  it  is  not  economical  to 
go  on  "  roughing  it "  when  it  is  possible  to  secure  a 
modicum  of  comfort.  Our  friends  of  the  Congo  Balolo 
Mission,  after  as  brave  an  attempt  as  has  ever  been 
made  to  live  and  work  on  so-called  "  economical  "  lines, 
decided  some  two  years  and  a  half  ago  to  build  sub- 
stantial and  commodious  houses,  in  the  hope  of  being 
able  to  mend  their  health-rate  and  conserve  their  power 
for  work,  finding  it  next  to  impossible  to  go  on  as  they 
were.  They  have  now  two  fine  buildings,  much  more 
ambitious  than  anything  of  ours  on  the  upper  river, 
fast  approaching  completion.  The  heavy  losses  they  have 
suffered  this  year  very  markedly  accentuate,  in  my  estima- 
tion, the  need  for  better  conditions  of  life — they  have  lost 
seven  of  their  number  during  the  past  twelve  months ! 

*  God  has  indeed  been  gracious  to  us  in  the  matter 
of  health  ;  humanly  speaking,  it  is  largely  due,  I  believe, 
to  our  having  secured  more  comfortable  circumstances 
for  ourselves.  All  this  has  a  tinge  of  worldliness  and 
selfishness,  I  fear  ;  still,  you  will  allow,  I  think,  there  is 
a  substratum  of  common  sense  for  the  position  I  maintain. 
Have  you  noticed  Sir  H.  Johnston's  criticisms  of  the 
missionaries'  mode  of  life  in  his  district?  He  says 
plainly  they  suffer  needlessly  because  of  the  voluntary 
hardships  they  undergo. 

'That  I  might  give  our  Committee  an  idea  of  our 
improved  houses,  I  have  prepared  a  series  of  photographs 
on  the  same  scale,  showing  the  residences  on  each  of 
our  Stations  from  the  Pool  to  the  Falls.  I  enclose  one 
or  two  waste  and  spoiled  prints  (I  have  not  a  scrap  of 
paper  left,  or  I  would  send  something  better),  by  way  of 
giving  you  an  idea  as  to  how  we  are  housed. 

'  Since  I  have  been  in  my  new  house,  the  photograph 
of  which  I  think  I  sent  you  some  months  ago,  I  am 


GRENFELL'S   EARLY   HOME    AT    BOLOBO. 
Phoio:  G.  Grcii.Ml. 


GRENFELL'S    HOME    AT    BOLOBO. 
Photo:  Rev.  Fnjiik  Ohirieve. 


A  Paying"  Investment       zii 

able  to  speak  more  emphatically  as  to  the  advantages 
of  better  accommodation.  I  feel  sure  my  new  house  is 
a  paying  investment  for  the  Mission,  seeing  I  am  better, 
and  can  do  more.  On  the  Congo  I've  never  had  more 
than  a  three-roomed  house  up  till  now,  and  now,  with 
the  bath-room,  we  have  six  ! 

'  Besides  the  photos  of  dwellings  I  send  you  two  of 
the  school  (interior  and  exterior).  My  poor  prints  make 
our  little  folk  look  atrociously  ugly.  I  don't  like  sending 
the  pictures,  for  I  feel  I  am  libelling  them. 

'  I  imagine  the  group  of  youths  and  young  men  will 
be  as  interesting  as  any  of  the  pictures — to  me  it  is  the 
most  interesting,  being  even  fuller  of  immediate  promise 
than  the  school  group.  More  than  one-third  of  those 
composing  this  picture  are  members  of  our  Church,  and 
some  of  them  are  active  and  capable  workers  in  the 
Master's  service  as  well  as  that  of  the  Mission.  The 
best  workers  at  their  trades  are  the  best  and  most 
consistent  in  serving  the  Lord. 

'  The  picture  of  the  "  Goodwill "  on  the  beach  at 
Sargent  Station  explains  itself — excepting  perhaps  the 
"bricklayer  out  for  a  holiday."  He  wanted  "  a  change," 
so  agreed  to  work  his  passage  on  the  "  Goodwill,"  that 
he  might  see  the  Falls.  He  figures  in  the  group  of 
young  men  as  the  fifth  on  the  central  row  from  the  left 
edge  of  the  picture.  He  is  just  now  roofing  in  our  kiln, 
in  which  we  are  stacking  fifty  thousand  bricks  and  tiles 
We  are  having  exceptional  rains,  and  much  of  our  work 
is  at  a  standstill.  Can't  even  burn  our  bricks  without  a 
house  for  the  kiln  ;  and  the  roads  are  so  heavy  we  can 
barely  get  timber  enough  to  keep  our  three  pit-saws 
going.  The  saw-pit  is  just  under  my  study  window,  so 
that  I  can  keep  my  eye  on  the  sawyers  without  going 
out  of  doors ! 


37^         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

*  We  had  a  baptismal  service  last  week,  adding  two 
young  women  to  our  Church.  People  are  showing  much 
more  interest  in  our  services,  and  our  school  building 
is  crowded  every  Sunday,  and  often  fairly  filled  for  the 
daily  evening  service.  Day  scholars  average  over  120. 
Sunday  School,  on  the  adoption  of  a  regular  class 
system,  has  gone  up  to  150.  Our  hearts  are  glad 
because  of  God's  goodness  to  us  in  these  things,  and 
for  the  signs  of  the  coming  of  His  Kingdom.  Oh  that 
it  might  come  more  quickly  ! 

*  Our  friends  of  the  American  Evangelical  Missionary 
Alliance  (Dr.  Simpson's  organization),  who  are  already 
some  thirty  strong  on  the  lower  river,  sent  a  party  east- 
ward from  Matadi,  to  make  a  "  bee  line,"  so  far  as  might 
be,  for  Lake  Tanganyika,  some  six  months  ago,  but  after 
going  about  two  hundred  miles  found  themselves  com- 
pelled to  return.  I  am  glad  to  learn  they  intend  to  make 
another  try  next  season.  They  won't  reach  Tanganyika 
for  some  time,  but  there's  nothing  like  aiming  high.  I 
wish  to  goodness  I  could  get  our  folk  fervid  enough  to 
embark  on  some  more  or  less  "  madcap  "  scheme  (of 
course,  all  the  "sober-sides"  out  here  say  the  Tanganyika 
scheme  is  "madness"),  such,  for  instance,  as  the  re- 
demption of  the  promises  we  made  some  eighteen  or 
nineteen  years  ago,  when  we  talked  of  Lake  Albert  and 
the  Nile  !  I  feel  terribly  mean  when  I  think  of  these 
things,  and  the  way  we  are  settling  down  in  comfortable 
homes  and  stations  and  dropping  the  pioneering. 
Comfortable  homes  and  stations  are  essentials  for  per- 
sistent work — they  are  stepping-stones  from  which  it  is 
easier  to  move  forward  to-day  than  it  was  for  us  to 
leave  Banana  when  we  first  landed  there  nineteen  years 
ago.  But  folk  at  home  seem  horrified  at  the  thought  of 
pushing  ahead,  for  fear  of  being  compelled  to  follow  on. 


Planning'  Ne\v  Campaigns    379 

'Don't  think  I've  dropped  "  pioneering"  because  I'm 
tired  of  it.  I  never  think  of  it  but  my  soul  burns  to 
be  up  and  ofif  again.  The  only  inducement  that  would 
be  strong  enough  to  take  me  to  the  old  country  (in  my 
present  state  of  mind  and  body),  would  be  the  hope  of 
being  able  to  start  a  new  campaign. 

'To  complete  our  chain  of  stations  on  the  Upper 
Congo,  it  seems  to  me,  we  need  one  near  the  Aruwimi. 
Each  of  the  important  languages  would  then  have  its 
centre  of  Christian  work,  where  the  seed  would  be  sown, 
and  in  God's  own  good  time  evangelists  trained.  If  we 
set  down  two  or  three  stations  among  people  speaking 
one  language,  we  should  have  two  or  three  sets  of 
missionaries  hammering  away  at  the  same  time  at  the 
difficulties  involved  in  reducing  a  language  to  writing, 
whereas  they  might  just  as  well  be  doing  foundation 
work  among  distinctly  separate  people.  At  present 
each  of  our  up-river  stations  is  placed  among  people 
speaking  their  own  particular  language,  and  by  that  fact 
very  largely  separated  from  their  neighbours.  I  am  a 
great  believer  in  the  effectual  working  of  the  "leaven 
of  the  Kingdom,"  and  I  want  to  see  the  leaven  set 
working  in  separate  districts  rather  than  at  several 
separate  points  in  the  same  district.  It  involves  a  little 
longer  waiting,  perhaps,  for  results,  but  the  total  result, 
after  a  considerable  period,  will  be  infinitely  greater. 

*  We  have  one  more  important  district  on  the  banks 
of  the  main  stream  yet  to  occupy,  and,  in  my  esteem, 
when  Messrs.  Weeks  and  Glennie  return  we  shall  be 
strong  enough  to  take  it  up.  This  being  done,  and  the 
centre  of  the  continent  being  accessible  by  railway  and 
steamer,  the  time  will  have  come  for  us  to  push  through 
once  more.  It  will  be  as  easy  to  start  inland  from  any 
point  on  the  river  as  it  was  from   the  coast  when  we 


380         Bolobo  and  Yakusu 

began  our  work,  though  perhaps  a  little  more  costly. 
I  am  told  the  Churches  will  not  listen  to  any  such  wild 
and  costly  scheme  as  would  be  involved  by  an  overland 
transport  towards  the  further  interior.  What  they  faced 
in  1878  and  1879  they  won't  shrink  from  in  1897,  I 
feel  sure. 

'The  American  Presbyterians  are  facing  inland 
transport  difficulties  towards  the  Upper  Kasai,  and  the 
Alliance  people  are  not  afraid  of  a  bee-line  project 
towards  Tanganyika.  American  missions  also  are  on 
Lake  Mantumba  and  on  the  Juapa  river,  and  are  thus 
occupying  south  and  east  of  the  great  bend.  The 
Congo  Balolo  Mission  and  ourselves  occupy  the  first  two 
degrees  north  of  the  line  at  seven  different  points  ;  but, 
what  about  the  two  thousand  miles  lying  between  the 
Congo  and  the  Mediterranean,  the  largest  unevangelized 
district  in  the  world  ?  Is  nothing  to  be  done  for  it  ^ 
The  work  on  the  southern  line  of  this  immense  tract 
lies  nearer  to  our  hands  than  to  the  hands  of  any  one 
else — it  is  the  work  over  against  our  "  own  house,"  and 
we  ought  to  see  to  it. 

'  I've  told  you  all  this,  I  know,  times  and  again,  but 
it  haunts  me,  and  I  must  tell  somebody  once  more,  and 
just  now,  to  relieve  the  pressure. 

'But  I  must  "dry  up,"  or  you'll  be  calling  me  to 
account  for  wasting  money  on  postage,  if  I've  nothing 
better  to  say.  Never  mind,  my  dear  Joseph,  it  "relieves 
my  feelings,"  and  you've  always  a  remedy  at  hand  in 
the  shape  of  an  open  fire.' 


CHAPTER   XVI 
MISSIONS  AND  SOCIAL  RESULTS 

Extent  of  Grenfell's  Travels— Sierra  Leone  Missions— Place  of 
Education— The  Labour-market— Results  of  Mission  Work  at 
Cameroons— Increase  of  Trade— Benefit  of  Missions— Punish- 
ment of  Death— Waste  of  Human  Life— Rise  of  an  Artisan 
Class— Influence  of  Language— Results  of  Mission  Work- 
Comments  on  Romish  Missions— Polygamy— Habits  of  Industry 
Inculcated  — Evil  Conditions  of  Native  Life— Missions  the 
Only  Hope. 

A  MONG  the  papers  which  were  handed  to  me 
^^  by  Mrs.  Grenfell  was  a  weather-stained,  barely 
legible  document,  which  proved  to  be  the  rough  draft 
of  a  letter  written  by  Grenfell  to  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Dennis, 
D.D.,  the  well-known  American  writer  on  Christian 
Missions.  In  preparing  his  comprehensive  work,  subse- 
quently issued  in  three  volumes,  entitled  Christian  Mis- 
sions and  Social  Progress,  Dr.  Dennis  wrote  to  Grenfell 
early  in  1895,  requesting  answers  to  a  schedule  of  perti- 
nent questions,  which  might  be  useful  to  him  in  his 
work.  Grenfell's  reply,  which  was  in  effect  a  small 
treatise  on  missions  and  social  results,  constitutes  the 
present  chapter. 

And,  happily,  the  reader  is  in  possession,  not  of  the 
rough  draft,  but  of  the  finished  essay,  a  press  copy  of 
which  was  enclosed  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hawkes,  dated 
Stanley  Pool,  June  3,  1895,  in  which  Grenfell  speaks  of 
Dr.  Dennis  as  inquiring   concerning  his  views  'on  the 


382   Missions  and  Social  Results 

sociological  results  of  missions,  apart  from  the  distinctly 
religious  ones,  which  constitute  our  chief  aim  ; '  and  as 
*  trying  to  compile  a  resum^  of  Mission  results  which 
shall  constitute  an  argument  in  favour  of  Missions  with 
those  who  do  not  lay  stress  upon  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen.* 

Dr.  Dennis  gave  due  weight  to  the  writer's  opinions, 
and  incorporated  some  portions  of  the  treatise  in  his 
book  ;  but  as  the  subject  is  of  no  less  vital  interest  to-day 
than  it  was  in  1895,  and  as  the  treatment  is  so  personal 
and  characteristic,  it  seems  fitting  to  include  this  long 
letter  in  the  present  volume. 

To  Dr.  Dennis. 

Bolobo,  Upper  Congo,  March  28,  1895. 

'  I  sincerely  regret  that  it  is  not  possible  for 
me  to  reply  to  your  letter  and  circular  at  the  length 
I  should  like,  or  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  important 
topics  you  suggest.  Nor  can  I  furnish  you  with  cate- 
gorical replies  to  the  questions  you  propose,  or  state 
definitely  that  such  and  such  results  are  the  outcome 
of  missionary  efforts,  seeing  that  for  the  greater  part  of 
my  twenty  years  in  Africa  Missions  have  not  been  the 
only  modifying  force  in  those  parts  of  the  country  that 
have  come  within  my  observation.  However,  possibly 
you  will  be  able  to  glean  from  the  following  statement  of 
my  experience  one  or  two  ideas  that  may  go  to 
strengthen  the  position  you  propose  to  maintain  with 
regard  to  the  sociological  value  of  Christian  Missions. 

'  During  my  African  experience  I  have  had  occasion 
to  visit  many  of  the  centres  of  Christian  activity  on  the 
west  coast,  from  Sierra  Leone  to  St.  Paul  de  Loanda 
and  the  river  Quanza,  but  the  fields  in  which  I  have 
myself  worked  have  been  those  on  the  banks  of  the 
Cameroons  and  the  Congo  rivers,  the  former  falling  into 


An  Unsatisfactory  Policy    383 

the  sea  near  the  fourth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  and 
the  latter  near  the  sixth  parallel  south.  Towards  the 
interior,  the  more  distant  mission  stations  visited  have 
been  those  on  the  Congo  and  Ouanza  rivers,  respectively, 
about  a  thousand  miles  and  three  hundred  miles  east- 
ward from  the  coast. 

'  Though  my  visits  to  Sierra  Leone  have  always  been 
brief,  yet  I  have  had  considerable  experience  of  em- 
ployees trained  by  the  Missions  there,  and  my  experi- 
ence justifies  me,  I  think,  in  attributing  much  of  the 
odium  that  has  fallen  upon  Sierra  Leone  Missions  for 
having  produced  sociological  results  that  are  the  reverse 
of  desirable,  to  the  mistake  that  has  been  made  in 
laying  so  much  stress  upon  scholastic  education,  and  so 
little  upon  technical  training.  To  give  a  considerable 
education  to  young  people  who  have  none  of  the 
restraints  of  Christianity  to  regulate  their  conduct,  and 
who  despise  labour  rather  than  recognize  any  dignity  in 
it,  is  regarded  by  all  those  who  have  had  experience  of 
the  African  character  as  a  very  unsatisfactory  policy. 

'  However,  notwithstanding  much  that  is  unsatis- 
factory, and  that  has  made  Sierra  Leone  a  byeword  with 
many,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  mainly  as  a  result 
of  the  labour  of  Christian  Missions  that  there  is  to  be 
found  to-day  an  intelligent  and  well-trained  class  of 
officials,  who  do  the  greater  part  of  the  administrative 
work  of  the  Colony,  and  a  class  of  commercial  men, 
who,  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  white  men,  carry  on  an 
export  trade  that  amounts  annually  to  some  two  and  a 
half  millions  of  dollars.  The  home  demands  of  the 
Colony  for  educated  men  being  more  than  supplied, 
Sierra  Leone  clerks  and  teachers  are  found  along  the 
greater  part  of  the  West  Coast,  and  often  far  in  the 
interior ;    many  of  them  honourably  filling  useful  and 


384    Missions  and  Social  Results 

important  positions,  others  replacing  Europeans,  and 
doing  harder  and  more  continuous  work. 

'  At  the  same  time,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  educated 
Sierra  Leone  man  is  always  appreciated  ;  in  fact,  his 
education  is  frequently  a  source  of  difficulty,  when  he 
has  to  labour,  for  a  third  or  a  fourth  of  the  wages, 
alongside  of  a  craftsman  who  has  received  a  technical 
training,  but  who,  it  may  be,  can  neither  read  nor  write 
so  well  as  himself.  To  the  African,  if  he  is  to  rise 
above  the  old  condition  of  things,  habits  of  industry  are 
even  more  important  then  the  ability  to  read  and  write, 
and  the  education  that  is  not  accompanied  by  systematic 
work  (if  it  does  not  involve  habits  of  industry  in  its 
acquisition),  is  very  often  little  better  than  a  snare. 

'The  skilled  labour-market  of  the  West  Coast  is 
mainly  supplied  by  men  trained  by  the  Basle  missionaries 
at  Accra  :  and  although  those  trained  are  British  sub- 
jects, there  are  as  many  of  them  who  find  employment 
in  the  German,  French,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese  Colonies 
as  under  their  own  flag.  The  mission-trained  mason, 
carpenter,  cooper,  blacksmith  or  engineer  is  found  in 
the  employ  of  nearly  every  business  house  along  two 
thousand  miles  of  coast :  and,  while  pursuing  his 
handicraft,  he  demonstrates  to  the  untutored  natives, 
with  whom  at  hundreds  of  different  points  he  is  brought 
into  contact,  what  they  themselves  might  do  in  the  way 
of  utilizing  their  long-neglected  resources.  He  also 
accustoms  them  to  the  use  of  mysterious  tools  and 
mechanical  forces,  and  also,  at  many  points,  to  the  use 
and  control  of  the  more  mysterious  power  of  steam. 

'While  I  cannot  speak  of  the  results  of  Mission 
training  at  Sierra  Leone  and  Accra  except  as  I  have 
seen  them  exemplified  at  considerable  distances  from 
those  places,  I  am  able  to  speak  of  the  results  of  the 


New  Needs  and  New  Supplies  385 

work  at  Cameroons  from  experience  gained  while 
living  for  some  years  among  the  people  in  their  own 
country.  Ten  years  after  I  first  went  to  Cameroons, 
and  after  forty  years'  work  on  the  part  of  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Society,  the  operations  of  our  missionaries 
were  in  1884  brought  to  a  close  by  reason  of  the 
German  occupation. 

'  Apart  from  the  changes  that  had  resulted  from 
religious  teaching,  very  considerable  advance  by  that 
time  had  been  made  in  the  social  condition  of  the 
people.  Many  of  them  had  learned  the  use  of  tools, 
and  had  profited  by  the  experience  gained  in  building 
the  chapel,  the  school  and  the  mission  house,  to  the 
extent  of  being  able  to  embellish  hundreds  of  their 
habitations  with  carpenter-made  doors  and  windows, 
and  simpler  items  of  furniture,  and,  in  several  cases,  to 
the  extent  of  being  able  to  replace  the  usual  structure 
of  palm  fronds,  woven  cane  and  a  few  posts  stuck  in  the 
ground  by  brick  houses,  three  of  them  being  ambitious 
two-storied  erections. 

*  The  ambition  to  possess  better  houses  and  furniture 
had  been  accompanied  by  the  desire  to  adopt  more  and 
more  the  ways  of  civilized  life,  with  the  result  that  a 
very  considerable  stimulus  in  favour  of  the  development 
of  commerce  had  been  afforded.  Increasing  needs 
could  not  be  met  out  of  old  resources,  and  to  meet  them 
new  districts  were  opened  up ;  longer  journeys  were 
made  interior-wards  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  and  an 
energy  and  perseverance  shown  in  the  collection  of  the 
natural  products  of  the  country  which  were  altogether 
unknown  under  the  old  regime. 

*  In  the  early  days  of  the  Mission  the  invoice  of  a 
whole  ship's  load  of  cargo  could  be  made  out  on  a  sheet 
or  two  of  paper — the  whole  list  of  articles  required  by 

2  c 


3S6    Missions  and  Social  Results 

the  people  being  comparatively  few  ;  but  in  later  years 
the  invoice  of  a  ship's  cargo  formed  quite  a  volume. 
With  the  advance  of  the  people,  their  wants  were  no 
longer  supplied  by  the  very  few  items  that  included  but 
little  beyond  two  kinds  of  spirits,  sundry  hogsheads  of 
tobacco,  cases  of  guns,  barrels  of  powder,  a  supply  of 
cutlasses,  salt,  soap,  and  earthenware,  and,  say,  half  a 
dozen  different  kinds  of  beads,  and  a  dozen  different 
patterns  of  cotton  goods,  which  formed  the  staple  articles 
of  barter.  To-day  the  changes  of  fashion  in  the  articles 
of  commerce,  like  those  in  the  old  country,  are  so  rapid 
that  merchants  dare  not  load  up  a  ship  with  even  a 
varied  assortment  of  goods,  lest  they  should  be  out  of 
date  before  they  could  be  sold.  To  meet  the  wants  of 
people,  traders  have  to  watch  the  markets,  and  to  take 
advantage  of  the  rapid  communication  afforded  by  the 
several  lines  of  steamers  that  have  practically  ousted  the 
sailing  ships  from  the  West  Coast  trade. 

'Commerce  might  say,  "These  are  largely  our 
victories ; "  but  how  is  it  that  at  points  along  the  coast 
where  trade  has  been  carried  on  as  long  as  it  has  been 
at  Cameroons  and  other  centres  of  mission  enterprise, 
there  has  been  no  similar  development  ?  How  is  it 
that  the  old  list  of  barter  goods  still  meets  the  require- 
ments of  the  natives  ?  The  reply  is  not  far  to  seek — 
they  do  not  buy  tools  because  no  one  has  taught  them 
their  use,  and  they  therefore  live  in  the  old-style  tempo- 
rary hut,  where  it  would  be  absurd  to  introduce  the 
furniture  and  appointments  of  civilization.  Having 
developed  no  energy  beyond  that  needful  for  the  supply 
of  their  more  immediate  and  pressing  wants,  they  have 
not  been  able  to  indulge  in  comparative  luxuries  till 
they  have  become  almost  necessaries  of  life — to  the 
great  benefit  of  commerce.     Possibly  their  sum-total  of 


Fines  op  Death  387 

happiness  is  not  much  less,  because  they  have  not 
learned  how  to  wear  clothes  or  boots,  or  because  they 
have  not  become  accustomed  to  sit  at  table,  or  take 
tea  and  sugar,  or  to  make  use  of  canned  provisions  and 
patent  medicines;  but  certainly  trade  has  not  been 
benefited  by  the  impetus  in  favour  of  civilization  that 
has  resulted  at  other  places  from  the  presence  and 
teaching  of  the  missionary. 

'  But  more  important  than  the  development  of  trade 
has  been  the  influence  of  the  missionary's  teaching 
against  the  sad  waste  of  life  that  resulted  from  the 
maintenance  of  cruel  customs  and  superstitions,  and 
against  the  readiness  with  which,  in  every  case  of 
difficulty,  the  appeal  was  made  to  the  force  of  arms. 

*  In  a  rude  state  of  society,  such  as  that  which  obtains 
at  Cameroons,  where  a  few  chiefs  and  free  men  claimed 
to  hold  the  rest  of  the  people  as  slaves,  and  where 
there  were  no  prisons,  the  only  punishments  were  fines 
or  death.  The  free  paid  even  for  murder,  and  went 
free,  the  slave  had  nothing  to  pay  with  (all  that  he  had 
was  his  master's),  and  so  had  to  die.  Then,  again, 
the  only  means  by  which  the  minority  could  hold  the 
majority  in  hand  was  by  a  liberal  recourse  to  the  extreme 
penalty.  But  even  in  this  it  was  needful  to  act  warily, 
for  even  slaves  become  influential,  and  secure  a  following 
among  their  fellows  that  is  not  easily  dealt  with.  In 
case  a  slave  failed  to  be  duly  amenable  to  his  master, 
when  he  showed  a  disposition  to  retain  too  large  a  share 
of  the  profits  of  a  trading  expedition,  or  when  he  pre- 
sumed to  copy  too  freely  the  manners  of  a  free  man, 
a  charge  of  witchcraft  and  an  extra  strong  decoction  of 
the  poisonous  ordeal  bark  were  the  readiest  and  surest 
means  of  dealing  with  him.  The  man,  conscious  of  his 
innocence,  had  no  fear  ;  the  man's  friends,  even  his  wives 


388    Missions  and   Social  Results 

and  children,  were  all  afraid  of  one  lying  under  such  a 
charge  ;  and  seeing  that  he  died,  the  accusation  must 
have  been  true,  and  they  were  more  than  resigned,  since 
they  were  rid  of  his  malign  influence. 

'Where  nine  out  of  £very  ten  wives  were  just  as 
much  the  property  of  their  husbands  as  the  great  pro- 
portion of  the  people  were  of  their  masters,  and  where 
the  greatest  restraint  in  favour  of  both  wives  and  slaves 
was  the  loss  of  money  value  that  would  result  if  they 
were  killed  or  married,  it  does  not  need  to  be  told  that 
this  mere  loss  of  money  was  no  sufficient  curb  on  the 
angry  passions  of  men,  to  prevent  great  and  continuous 

loss  of  life. 

'  It  was  only  by  persistently  inculcating  the  sanctity 
of  human  life,  by  showing  the  absurdity  of  fighting  and 
losing  several  lives  over  a  mere  dispute,  by  demonstra- 
ting from  time  to  time  the  folly  of  charges  of  witchcraft, 
and  by  saving  lives  without  incurring  the  dreaded  results, 
that  the  missionaries  succeeded  in  creating  a  sentiment 
that  resulted  in  the  sparing  of  many  lives  that  would 
otherwise  have  been  sacrificed.  It  cannot,  however,  be 
claimed  that  the  missionaries  succeeded  in  putting  any- 
thing like  a  stop  to  the  cruel  waste  of  life  incident  upon 
savage  rule  ;  but  to  have  saved  some  lives,  and  to  have 
so  guided  public  opinion  that  things  which  used  to  be 
done  openly  came  to  be  done  comparatively  in  secret, 
were  results  of  no  mean  value,  and  well  worth  striving  for. 

'  Considering  the  ease  with  which  life  is  supported, 
and  the  bounty  with  which  Nature  responds  to  the 
labour  of  her  children,  it  may  be  fairly  argued  that  but 
for  the  reckless  waste  of  life  Central  Africa  would  be 
wonderfully  more  populous  than  we  find  it  to  be.  But 
population  is  checked  not  only  by  the  death  of  so  many 
poor  victims  of  savage  and  superstitious  rule,  but  also 


Wag'e-earning'  Craftsmen    3S9 

by  the  terrible  laxity  of  morals  that  obtains.  Bearing 
upon  this  question  is  the  very  noticeable  feature  of  a 
greatly  improved  birth-rate  among  those  communities 
that  have  come  under  the  influence  of  mission  training. 
"  How  is  it,"  many  a  native  has  asked  the  missionary, 
"  that  your  people,  who  have  only  one  wife  apiece,  have 
so  many  more  children  than  I  have,  with  my  six  or 
ten  wives  ? " 

*  Under  the  old  regime  society  was  divided  into  two 
well-defined  classes — the  masters,  who  did  the  trading, 
mostly  very  smart  business  men,  and  the  slave  who  did 
the  work.  Under  the  training  of  the  missionaries,  a 
third,  and,  as  it  has  proved,  a  very  important  class,  has 
been  developed — that  of  the  wage-earning  craftsman. 
Though  for  the  most  part  this  third  class  consisted  of 
men  born  of  slave  parents,  it  was  a  class  that,  in  response 
to  training,  furnished  men  who  were  able  to  build  two- 
storied  brick  houses,  work  a  Denny  printing-press,  run  a 
small  steam  saw-mill,  or  a  small  sea-going  steamboat, 
and  it  can  easily  be  imagined  that  though  it  did  not 
constitute  numerically  a  very  important  community,  it 
was  a  very  different  one  to  be  reckoned  with  as  com- 
pared with  that  which  furnished  the  paddlers  for  their 
master's  canoes. 

'In  addition  to  developing  the  self-reliance  and 
resourcefulness  of  a  more  or  less  skilled  body  of  artisans, 
the  missionaries,  by  teaching  them  a  civilized  language 
and  bringing  them  into  contact  with  the  literature  and 
civilization  of  the  world,  have  placed  them  in  a  position 
of  great  advantage,  as  compared  with  those  among  whom 
mission  work  has  been  carried  on  exclusively  in  the 
language  of  the  country.  From  a  distinctly  religious 
point  of  view,  it  may  be  debateable  as  to  whether  it 
is  advantageous  or  not  to  teach  a  new  language,  but 


390    Missions  and  Social  Results 

from  a  social  point  of  view  the  gain  is  very  distinct.  If 
work  is  done  through  the  medium  of  the  native  tongue, 
it  is  long  before  even  the  rudiments  of  literature  can  be 
translated  or  rendered  available.  On  the  other  band, 
every  intelligent  scholar  is  able  to  help  himself,  and 
those  around  him  also,  from  the  immense  stores  at  his 
disposal,  when  he  has  once  mastered  English,  or  any 
one  of  the  European  languages,  and,  possibly,  the 
sociological  impulse  is  even  greater  from  contact  with 
the  world  through  the  medium  of  its  periodical  press 
than  it  is  from  contact  with  the  treasures  of  its 
literature. 

'Where  the  native  tongue  is  alone  the  vehicle  for 
instruction  and  communication,  the  maintenance  of  the 
old  trading  monopolies  of  the  head  men,  of  the  wide- 
embracing  institution  of  slavery,  and  the  despotic  cruelty 
of  the  chiefs,  is  secured  for  a  much  longer  period  than  is 
possible  where  the  people  are  enlightened  through  the 
medium  of  a  civilized  language,  and  thereby  enabled  to 
realize  that  they  constitute  part  of  the  civilized  world. 

'Possibly  the  most  noticeable  sociological  result  of 
the  missionary's  teaching  is  found  in  the  capacity 
developed  for  co-operating  persistently  for  a  common 
purpose— a  result  all  the  more  remarkable  when  it  is 
remembered  how  foreign  such  a  characteristic  is  to  a 
state  of  society  similar  to  that  in  which  the  missionary 
found  the  Cameroons  people.  When  the  missionaries 
were  withdrawn,  this  capacity  was  exemplified  by  the 
mission-trained  people  taking  in  hand  the  work  of  pro- 
viding meeting-places  for  themselves,  and  schools  and 
teaching  for  their  children.  Of  the  several  buildings 
erected  by  this  community,  one  is  capable  of  accommo- 
dating some  fifteen  hundred  people  ;  a  work  calling  for 
both  organizing  and  technical  ability  of  no  mean  order, 


Summapy  of  Gains  391 

and  proving  the  very  .'considerable  capacity  of  a  much- 
despised  people,  and  the  effectiveness  of  the  influences 
that  had  been  brought  to  bear  upon  them. 

'It  cannot  be  claimed  that  forty  years  of  mission 
work,  of  the  efforts  of  a  few  missionaries  spread  over 
little  more  than  a  single  generation,  have  resulted  in  the 
upsetting  of  a  social  system  as  old  as  the  civilization  of 
Egypt ;  it  may,  however,  be  maintained,  I  believe,  that — 
*  (a)  Considering  the  conservative  character  of  the 
native  institutions  at  Cameroons,  and  the  self-interest  of 
the  privileged  few,  the  results  are  such  as  incontrovertibly 
prove  the  value  of  missions  as  a  force  for  the  uplifting  of 
a  degraded  people. 

'  {b)  To  the  missionary  may  be  attributed  the  intro- 
duction of  a  measure  of  civilization  that  has  been  greatly 
to  the  advantage  of  commerce. 

'(c)  The  missionary,  by  constantly  enunciating  the 
doctrine  of  the  sanctity  of  human  life,  has  contributed  to 
the  formation  of  a  sentiment  that  has  prevented  much 
infanticide,  and  saved  the  lives  of  many  who  but  for  that 
sentiment  would  have  been  sacrificed  by  the  cruel 
customs  and  superstitions  of  the  country. 

'{d)  The  inculcation  of  better  morals  has  resulted 
in  an  increased  birth-rate,  and  in  the  better  condition 
and  higher  esteem  of  women  among  the  mission  com- 
munities. 

'  (e)  The  training  of  artisans,  and  the  creation  of  a 
large  wage-earning  class,  have  been  important  factors 
in  modifying  the  relationships  of  the  two  sections  (masters 
and  slaves)  into  which  society  had  been  previously 
divided. 

'(/)  The  spirit  of  self-reliance  and  resourcefulness 
have  been  so  developed  in  those  who  have  come  under 
the  influence  of  the  missionaries,  that  when  left  without 


392    Missions  and  Social  Results 

their  teachers  they  were  able  to  combine  and  arrange 
for  the  construction  of  several  meeting-places,  and  also 
to  organize  schools  for  the  instruction  of  their  children. 

'It  is  not  maintained  that  all  the  results  in  these 
directions  are  the  outcome  of  the  missionaries'  unaided 
efforts.  The  influence  of  wise-minded  and  kind-hearted 
business  men  has  often  been  lent  with  no  small  effect  for 
the  furtherance  of  the  good  of  the  people. 

'  It  is  also  only  right  to  say,  that,  notwithstanding 
much  that  savours  of  harshness,  the  progress  of  the 
people  at  Cameroons  towards  a  better  condition  of 
things  has  been  much  more  rapid  under  the  German 
administration  of  the  past  ten  years  than  was  possible 
under  native  rule. 

*  Proceeding  southwards  from  Cameroons  some  seven 
hundred  miles,  where  as  yet  missions  have  barely  half 
a  century  behind  them,  we  arrive  at  the  Congo  and 
the  province  of  Angola,  where  they  were  commenced 
four  centuries  ago.  For  more  than  two  hundred  years 
these  missions  were  sustained  by  a  succession  of 
Portuguese,  Italian  and  French  priests  ;  but  the  native 
Christians  were  eventually  left  to  their  own  ministrations, 

*  Considerable  advances  had  been  made,  native  priests 
had  been  educated  and  ordained,  and  in  San  Salvador 
and  the  neighbourhood  seven  stone-built  churches  and  a 
cathedral  had  been  erected,  and  the  ruins  of  these 
churches  are  incontrovertible  evidence  as  to  the  sub- 
stantial character  of  the  original  structures,  and  to  the 
great  advance  that  had  been  made  by  the  people  some 
three  or  four  centuries  ago.  But,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  Roman  Catholicism  was  at  one  time  a  great 
power  in  the  country — its  elaborate  rituals  always 
appeal  very  forcibly  to  the  native  mind — it  has  left  little 


Priests  and  Burdens        393 

result  beyond  the  custom  of  giving  Ciiristian  names  to 
boys,  and,  in  the  district  of  Ambaca,  such  an  apprecia- 
tion of  the  art  of  writing  as  to  secure  its  being  passed  on 
from  father  to  son  through  several  generations. 

'  It  seems  as  though  the  lack  of  self-sustaining  power 
of  the  work  initiated  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
in  the  Congo,  as  compared  with  the  self-sustaining 
power  of  the  enterprises  of  the  Evangelical  Churches 
in  other  portions  of  the  continent,  might  be  referred  to 
the  essential  difference  in  their  respective  teaching.  In 
the  one  case  the  priest  assumes  the  burden  of  his  flock, 
and  in  a  great  measure  relieves  them  of  responsi- 
bility for  their  future  well-being.  In  the  other,  the 
burden  of  the  weightiest  affairs,  those  of  the  future  and 
of  the  soul  of  man,  are  thrown  upon  the  individual,  and 
in  dealing  with  these  there  is  a  development  of  cha- 
racter and  capacity  for  which  there  is  no  stimulus 
afforded  under  a  regime  where  the  burdens  are  trans- 
ferred to  other  shoulders. 

'  Besides  the  difficulty  in  distinguishing  the  respective 
results  of  Mission  work  and  of  civilized  government  in 
the  matter  of  social  advance  on  the  Congo,  there  is  the 
fact  that  these  forces  have  as  yet  been  in  operation  but  for 
some  sixteen  years  or  so — a  period  too  short,  seeing  the 
conditions  are  such  as  are  found  to  obtain,  to  allow  of 
much  more  than  results  in  individual  cases.  There  are, 
however,  very  plainly  in  progress  changes  that  have  an 
all-important  bearing  upon  the  future  of  the  country. 
The  Government  has  issued  laws  against  slave-raiding, 
against  killing  for  witchcraft,  and  against  the  burying  of 
slaves  alive  as  part  of  the  funeral  ceremonies  of  free 
men,  and,  so  far  as  its  powers  go,  prevents  the  con- 
tinuance of  these  devastating  practices. 

'  In  places  beyond  the  eye  of  the  law  the  missionary 


394    Missions  and  Social  Results 

is  gaining  an  influence,  and  convincing  the  people,  in  a 
certain  measure,  in  favour  of  observing  the  law,  and  is 
thus  becoming  year  by  year  more  successful  in  saving 
the  lives  of  poor  victims  who  would  otherwise  be  sacri- 
ficed. The  missionary,  by  the  employment  of  free 
labour,  and  by  securing  good  results  therefrom,  demon- 
strates the  advantage  of  the  system  he  pursues  as 
compared  with  that  of  slavery. 

'The  advantages  of  monogamy  as  compared  with 
polygamy  are  also  being  demonstrated  in  the  lives  of 
mission  people — a  much-needed  lesson,  for  polygamy  is 
one  of  the  great  evils  from  which  the  country  suffers. 
Extra  wives  and  slaves  are  practically  the  only  invest- 
ments for  money  gained  by  trading,  and  as  a  man's 
status  is  determined  by  the  number  of  his  wives,  he  goes 
on  buying  them,  even  when  he  has  already  far  more 
than  conduce  to  his  comfort.  By  this  system  the  old 
men  get  the  great  proportion  of  young  women  into  their 
hands,  and  the  young  men  have  thus  to  be  content  with 
somebody's  widow,  who  may  happen  to  be  for  sale 
cheap.  Under  such  conditions  promiscuity  is  greatly 
fostered,  and  small  families,  or  no  families  at  all, 
result.  In  fact,  in  the  chief  trading  centres,  where 
most  money  is  made,  the  children  born  are  not  equal  to 
the  death-rate,  and  the  population  is  only  maintained 
by  the  purchase  of  slaves.  It  may,  however,  be  hoped 
that  when  the  people  have  been  trained  to  build  better 
houses,  and  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  civilization, 
they  will  be  induced  on  the  Congo,  as  elsewhere,  to 
spend  money  in  other  directions  than  in  slaves  or 
superfluous  wives. 

*  Missions,  by  means  of  the  technical  training  they 
are  furnishing,  and  by  reason  of  the  habits  of  industry 
they  are  inculcating,  are  also  contributing  in  no  small 


NATIVE    CARPENTERS    AT   SAN    SALVADOR. 
Photo:  Rev., J.  S.  Boicsktll. 


NATIVE    BLACKSMl  1  ii 


BY    THE   BAPTIST    MISSION. 


UPl'l.R    LONGO. 


Pernicious  Idleness  395 

measure  to  the  future  development  of  the  people.  The 
Mission  steamer  "  Goodwill,"  a  vessel  eighty-four  feet  in 
length,  is  engineered  and  manned  entirely  by  Congo 
people ;  printing-presses  at  San  Salvador,  Wathen,  and 
Lukolela  are  being  worked  by  Congo  people  ;  and  they 
have  made  and  laid  the  bricks  for  school  houses  at 
Stanley  Pool  and  Bolobo.  It  is  as  important  for  the 
missionary's  chief  purpose  as  it  is  for  the  country  that 
habits  of  industry  should  be  formed.  It  cannot  be  con- 
ceived that  Christianity  should  really  influence  the  heart 
of  the  uncivilized  negro,  and  leave  him  content  in  the 
midst  of  his  old  circumstances — his  old  unclean  and 
immoral  surroundings.  In  countries  where  food  is 
plentiful,  and  where  the  labour  involved  in  getting  it  is 
furnished  by  the  women,  and  where,  as  compared  with 
civilized  countries,  there  is  little  or  no  need  for  houses, 
fuel  or  clothing,  the  greater  proportion  of  the  male 
population  may  be  described  as  slothful  and  idle  ;  and, 
consequently,  increasingly  vicious  as  they  grow  older. 

*  Those  who  have  had  experience  of  mission  work  in 
Africa  recognize  how  difficult  it  is  for  Church  members 
to  maintain  consistent  lives,  unless  the  old  idleness  is 
exchanged  for  habits  of  industry,  and  have  felt  them- 
selves justified  in  predicting  a  speedy  downfall  for  those 
who  after  a  period  of  activity  relapse  into  the  idle  ways 
of  their  countrymen.     Happily,  while  the  combat  with 
idleness  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  just  emerging  out 
of  the  old  barbarism  involves  a  most  arduous  struggle,  it 
is  evident,  from  observations  among  children  and  grand- 
children of  those  who  in  older  fields  have  profited  by 
mission   training,   that   the   struggle,   in   their  case,   is 
less  serious.     In  fact,  the  increasing  ability  and  aptitude 
for  the  ways  of  civilized  life  manifested  in  the  second 
and  third  generations  of  those  who  have  been  subjected 


396    Missions  and  Social  Results 

to  the  educational  influences  of  a  mission  station,  make 
it  difficult  to  realize  that  they  are  of  the  same  race  as 
their  untrained  compatriots. 

'  With  respect  to  the  inquiry  concerning  the  con- 
spicuous evils  of  the  field  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  I 
must  say  it  is  very  difficult  for  me  to  specify  the  elements 
which  go  to  make  up  the  great  festering  sore  which 
afflicts  the  whole  body  social,  and  that  at  many  points 
threatens  its  very  existence.  Polygamy,  attended  as  it 
is,  in  a  country  where  there  are  no  Zenanas,  by  most 
flagrant  immoralities,  together  with  slavery  and  witch- 
craft, and  the  entire  lack  of  protection  for  life  and 
property  apart  from  one's  own  right  hand,  are  so  inti- 
mately intertwined  with  and  related  to  each  other  as  to 
make  it  difficult  to  define  their  sequence  or  comparative 
importance. 

'  The  country  where  there  is  little  or  no  feeling  of 
right  and  wrong — where  practically  everything  is  "  right " 
that  is  not  immediately  attended  by  prohibitive  con- 
sequences, and  where  of  necessity  every  man  goes  armed 
— the  resulting  chaos  is  not  to  be  described,  hardly  to  be 
conceived.  The  restraints  of  law  and  civilization  are 
beginning  to  be  felt  within  the  administrative  range  of 
the  Government ;  but  it  will  be  long  before  these 
restraints  can  do  more  than  touch  the  edge  of  the  sore 
— they  cannot,  in  the  nature  of  things  (history  proves 
the  point),  work  the  moral  change  needful  for  the  re- 
generation of  the  country  and  the  perpetuation  of  the 
race.  Polygamy  and  slavery,  and  their  attendant  evils, 
lead  to  death — and  life  is  not  of  the  law,  but  of  the 
Gospel. 

'  Happily  for  the  Upper  Congo  the  importation  of 
spirituous  liquors  (for  the  present  at  least)  is  prohibited, 
though  on  the  lower  river  it  is  unrestrained,  with  the 


The  only  Hope  397 

result  that  gin  and  rum  are  there  working  their  usual 
course  of  demoralization  and  crime.  A  native  who 
acquires  the  habit  of  drinking  spirits  will  work  to  satisfy 
his  craving,  and  for  this  reason  some  traders  maintain 
that  they,  as  well  as  the  missionaries,  are  making  the 
natives  work.  But  the  drink  appetite  kills  every  other 
desire,  and  soon  stultifies  itself  by  destroying  the  power 
to  work,  whereas  the  taste  for  better  surroundings,  more 
healthy  houses  and  suitable  clothes,  increases  rather 
than  diminishes  a  man's  ability  to  satisfy  his  growing 
desires. 

'But  on  the  Upper  and  Lower  Congo  alike  the  people 
have  been  debased  by  long  centuries  of  immorality, 
slavery,  cruel  superstitions,  and  by  practically  unceasing 
internecine  wars  ;  natural  affections  have  been  largely 
destroyed,  mere  children  learn  early  to  delight  in  blood, 
and  later  have  no  compunction  about  abandoning  their 
helpless  parents,  parents  sell  their  children,  and  brothers 
their  own  brethren.  However,  upon  these  things  I  need 
not  dilate.  Every  traveller's  story  and  every  missionary's 
record  tell  of  them  till  the  heart  sickens,  and  one  almost 
despairs  of  the  possibility  of  a  brighter  future  for  a 
country  where  such  evils  abound.  Those  who  have  not 
realized  the  power  of  Christianity  are  not  slow  to  say 
there  is  no  hope  for  these  poor  people ;  but  those  who 
have  lived  longest  among  them,  and  have  laboured  most 
arduously  for  their  uplifting,  say  there  is  hope — but  from 
one  source  alone. 

'  The  only  work  which  can  possibly  succeed  in 
regenerating  a  people  so  degraded  is  that  which  has  the 
foundations  of  Christianity  for  its  basis  ;  for,  apart  from 
the  regeneration  that  is  quite  outside  the  range  of 
mere  civilization,  there  is  no  prospect  that  the  tracts 
devastated  by  slavery  and  depopulated  by  immorality 


39^    Missions  and  Social  Results 

will  ever  be  repeopled,  that  the  fertility  of  thousands  of 
abandoned  valleys  will  ever  be  renewed,  or  that  the 
remnants  of  the  people  will  ever  be  freed  from  the 
bonds  of  superstitions  even  more  cruel  than  those  of 
slavery,  ere  the  race  has  brought  upon  itself  the  doom 
that  inevitably  follows  such  evils  as  those  from  which 
it  suffers,  and  disappears  from  the  face  of  the  earth.' 


CHAPTER   XVII 
*IN  JOURNEYINGS   OFTEN' 

Death  of  Grenfell's  Daughter  Pattie— A  'Bolt  from  the  Blue' 
— Notice  to  quit  Sargent  Station— Changes  and  Death— A 
Soldiers'  Revolt— Progress  of  the  Railway— Death  of  Mrs. 
Scrivener — Proposed  Prospecting  Tour — Visit  of  M.  Buls^ 
Natives  sing  '  Lo,  He  comes '—Breakdown  of  the  *  Leon  XIII.' 
and  other  Steamers — Interview  with  Vice-Governor  Wangerm6e 
—Arrival  at  the  Lindi  Falls— Posts  attacked  by  Arabs— Miss 
Grenfell's  Last  Journey— Dangers  of  the  River  Channel — 
Progress  at  Sargent  Station— Salamo,  a  Native  Christian  Girl- 
Translation  Work. 

'  JOURNEYINGS*  are  characteristic  of  almost  every 
vJ  chapter  of  Grenfell's  missionary  life  ;  but  the  well- 
known  apostolic  phrase  is  specially  appropriate  to  the 
last  years  of  his  longest  stay  in  Africa.  Of  many 
'  joumeyings '  only  two  can  be  spoken  of  as  '  pioneering  ' 
— his  progress  up  the  Lindi  with  Stapleton,  in  1898, 
and  his  extended  voyage  up  the  Aruwimi,  in  1899,  of 
which  he  wrote  a  careful  and  elaborate  account  intended 
for  the  press,  but  now  published  for  the  first  time.  His 
longings  were  divided  between  the  development  of 
spiritual  work  at  Bolobo,  and  forward  marches  in  the 
direction  of  fulfilling  Mr.  Arthington's  plans.  But  the 
material  necessities  of  the  Mission,  the  illnesses  and 
deaths  of  colleagues,  held  him  to  the  drudgery  of  trans- 
port service ;  and  he  accepted  manfully  the  will  of  God, 
and  did  the  present  duty  with  self-eft'acing  fidelity. 
This   business  travelling  was  not  all  drudgery,  as  he 


400      'In  Journeying^s  often' 

cheerfully  confessed.  There  were  quiet  days  upon  the 
dear  old  '  Peace '  when  his  boys  were  engineers,  his  wife 
*  chief  mate,'  and  no  passengers  present,  to  withdraw  him 
from  his  books,  or  divert  his  long,  long  thoughts. 

It  was  during  this  period,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
down-river  voyage,  that  one  of  Grenfell's  greatest 
sorrows  overtook  him.  He  had  looked  forward  with 
keenest  interest  to  the  outcoming  of  his  daughter 
Pattie,  who  had  finished  her  education,  and  was 
destined  to  join  her  parents  in  their  Mission  work  in 
Africa.  She  reached  Bolobo  in  July,  1897,  spent  some 
months  there,  and  then  went  up  with  her  father  and 
mother  to  Yakusu,  where  she  remained  a  year,  helping 
Mrs.  Stapleton  in  school-work,  and  displaying  grace  and 
aptitude  which  gave  large  promise  of  future  usefulness. 
Early  in  March,  1899,  while  returning  with  her  father 
from  Yakusu  to  Bolobo,  Pattie  developed  a  dangerous 
fever,  and  it  became  a  grave  question  whether  she  would 
arrive  at  home  alive. 

And  just  when  Grenfell,  sick  himself,  was  more  than 
ever  anxious  that  the  '  Peace '  should  do  her  best,  her 
engines  failed,  and  he  had  to  tear  himself  away  from  the 
cabin  to  effect  repairs.  Then  she  grounded  on  a  sand- 
bank :  then  a  night-storm  broke  upon  her,  threatening 
wreck  and  death.  At  last  the  lame  steamer,  bearing 
the  distracted  father  and  the  dying  girl,  crept  into 
Bolobo,  just  in  time.  Pattie  felt  her  mother's  arms 
about  her,  gave  one  loving  smile  of  recognition,  and 
sank  into  the  arms  of  God, 

The  reader  who  shrinks  from  tears  will  be  well- 
advised  to  skip  the  letter  in  which  Grenfell  tells  in 
detail  this  intensely  pathetic  story.  The  loss  of  his 
dear  daughter,  in  whom  so  many  fond  and  holy  hopes 
were  centred,  was  a  paralyzing  blow ;   but  he  quickly 


*A  Bolt  from  the  Blue'     401 

braced  himself  for  service,  left  the  binding-up  of  his 
broken  heart  to  Him  who  fails  not  in  this  ministry,  and 
laboured  on  to  make  the  comfort  of  God  accessible  to 
those  who  knew  it  not. 

*  There's  no  room  for  tears  of  weakness,  in  the  blind  eyes  of 
a  Phemius, 
Into  work  the  poet  kneads  them,   and   he  does  not  die   till 
then.' 

Grenfell  kneaded  his  tears  into  work,  and  though  he 
made  no  verses  he  achieved  that  higher  poetry,  the 
music  of  which  arises,  not  from  the  linking  of  melodious 
words,  but  from  the  doing  of  deeds  harmonious  with  the 
will  of  God. 

Early  in  1 897  '  a  bolt  from  the  blue '  fell  upon  the 
Mission,  in  the  form  of  a  notice  from  the  State  to  quit 
Sargent  Station,  Yakusu.  The  Rev.  G.  R.  Pople, 
Acting  Secretary  (in  the  absence  of  the  Rev.  Lawson 
Forfeitt),  secured  six  months'  grace,  to  enable  him  to 
refer  the  question  to  Mr.  Baynes  and  the  Home 
Committee. 

On  February  16  Grenfell  writes  to  Mr.  Hawkes  from 
Stanley  Pool,  stating  that  he  has  come  down  from 
Bolobo  to  get  mails  and  the  latest  news,  and  is  going  up 
river  to  bring  Messrs.  White  and  Stephens  from  Yakusu. 
Anent  the  notice  to  quit  he  says  :  *  I  am  utterly  astounded 
at  the  State  following  such  a  "  line  of  policy,"  after  their 
declaration  in  favour  of  strict  investigation.  Some  people 
say  it  is  because  the  Administration  is  afraid  of  the  light 
that  Protestant  missionaries  let  in  upon  their  proceedings. 
It  looks  like  it,  though  I  cannot  accept  this  yet,  for  at 
heart  I  have  always  regarded  the  Administration  as 
sound  ;  but,  if  it  is  rotten  enough  to  ask  for  light,  and  to 
bar  the  window  at  the  same  time,  I  shall  say  there  is  no 
hope  for  it.  .  .  .  What  about  Article  VI  of  the  General 

2  D 


402       *  In  Joupneying's  often ' 

Act  of  the  Berlin  Conference  ?  Or  is  it  a  dead-letter,  so 
far  as  Britishers  are  concerned  ?  .  .  .  I  have  written  to 
Mr.  Baynes,  and  I  am  hoping  he  will  bring  such 
pressure  to  bear  as  will  result  in  our  being  free  to  move 
forward.  Boma  throws  the  responsibility  on  Brussels, 
so  it  is  no  use  our  trying  to  do  anything  out  here.' 

At  this  time  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt  was  at  home,  and 
in  close  consultation  with  Mr.  Baynes  on  this  matter.  In 
the  end  Mr.  Baynes  was  able  to  cable  to  Mr.  Pople 
at  Matadi,  '  Brussels  instructs  Governor  Mission  keeps 
Yakusu.' 

In  this  letter  Grenfell  is  also  much  concerned  with 
the  preparations  for  his  daughter's  coming  out  to  the 
Congo,  upon  leaving  school  at  Sevenoaks. 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

s.s.  '  Goodwill,'  Stanley  Pool,  May  29. 

*  It  is  three  months  since  I  wrote  you  !     *  I've  been 

en  ro2ite  ever  since,  and  shall  not  finish  till  the  first 
half  of  the  year  is  nearly  through.  Out  of  the  first 
six  months  of  1897  I  expect  I  shall  have  spent  only 
some  six  weeks  at  home,  so  if  my  letter-writing  is  all 
in  arrears  it  won't  be  very  wonderful.' 

Enclosing  a  copy  of  his  reply  to  Mr.  Arthington, 
concerning  proposals  for  extension  towards  Lake  Albert, 
Grenfell  says,  referring  to  the  difficulties  in  the  way, 
*  The  Roman  Catholic  Administrations  of  foreign 
countries  are  not  favourable  to  Protestant  progress. 
The  Pope  pulls  lots  of  strings,  and  I  have  reason  to 
believe  he  is  very  busy  with  Central  African  affairs. 
The  "  Goodwill "  lies  moored  within  sight  of  the  resi- 
dences of  two  Roman  Catholic  Bishops  !    .  .  . 

'  I  told  you  in  my  February  letter  that  I  was  going 
up  river,  to  bring  Mr.  and  Mrs.  White  down  ;  but  I 
found  Mr.  Stephens  also  needed  to  recruit,  in  fact  so  ill 


Soldiers'  Revolt 


40: 


that  I  could  not  leave  him  there.  So  I  hurried  down  to 
Bopoto,  and  brought  up  Dodds  to  stay  with  Beedham, 
and  Field  has  since  gone  up  in  the  '*  Peace  "  to  stay  with 
Smith.  On  my  way  down  river  I  heard  of  Mr.  Roger 
having  been  compelled  to  go  home  by  reason  of  sickness, 
and  while  at  Bolobo  I  got  news  of  Pople's  death !  So 
you  see  we  have  been  in  the  midst  of  changes  and  very 
anxious  times.  Poor  Mrs,  Pople  was  confined  three 
weeks  after  her  husband's  death  ;  her  little  son  seems 
to  be  getting  on  all  right,  but  our  latest  news  concerning 
the  mother  is  most  grave,  continued  high  fever  and 
weakness  allowing  but  little  hope  for  her  recovery.' 
Shortly  after,  both  mother  and  child  passed  away. 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Stanley  Pool,  May  29. 

'  We  had  rather  an  exciting  time  of  it  at  Stanley 
Falls,  for  while  we  were  there  we  got  word  of  the  revolt 
of  part  of  the  soldiers  forming  Dhanis's  expedition  to 
the  Nile.  At  first  it  was  thought  that  some  fifteen 
hundred  men  were  marching  on  the  Falls  Station  to  take 
it ;  so  the  officer  in  charge  sent  word  to  Sargent  Station 
(Yakusu),  for  the  missionaries  to  hold  themselves  in 
readiness  to  abandon  the  place,  should  they  be  attacked, 
as  he  had  not  sufficient  men  even  to  defend  his  own 
Station.  Those  available  were  set  to  work  at  once  to 
make  it  as  strong  a  place  as  possible;  but  I  feel  sure 
they  could  not  have  long  held  out  against  fifteen 
hundred  men.  The  steamer  "Ville  de  Bruxelles"  was 
at  the  Falls  at  the  time,  and  she  was  protected  by 
extemporized  armour-plating  and  kept  under  steam, 
ready  for  the  worst  if  it  should  happen. 

'We  got  the  first  news  of  the  trouble  as  we  were 
going  down  to  Bopoto  from  Sargent  Station  to  fetch  up 
Mr.  Dodds ;  but  by  the  time  we  got  back  (we  hurried 


404      'In  Journeying's  often' 

our  best,  you  may  imagine),  the  strain  was  lessening,  for 
there  appeared  to  be  indications  that  the  revolted 
soldiers  were  marching  southwards  towards  Kasongo 
and  Nyangwe,  and  leaving  the  Falls  on  their  right. 
Three  days  later,  scouts  having  come  in  with  news  that 
this  was  really  the  case,  the  "  Ville  de  Bruxelles  "  steamed 
off  down  river,  and  we  followed  a  few  hours  later. 
There  have  been  several  lives  lost,  but  how  many  is  not 
made  known  yet.  Baron  Dhanis's  brother  is  among 
the  dead.' 

On  June  lo  Grenfell  wrote  to  the  Rev.  Lawson 
Forfeitt,  who  was  still  in  England,  congratulating  him 
on  his  progress  towards  health,  and  giving  much 
affectionate  and  fatherly  counsel,  culminating  in  the 
strictly  orthodox  injunction  that  he  should  be  reasonable, 
and  take  his  wife's  advice.  He  was  also  much  gratified 
by  a  bit  of  extra  service  which  Mr.  Forfeitt  was  permitted 
to  put  in  on  his  voyage  home.  The  ship's  doctor  was 
seriously  ill  from  the  time  of  leaving  Banana,  and  at  the 
captain's  request  Mr.  Forfeitt  undertook  the  medical 
service,  which  was  exceptionally  heavy  that  voyage. 
For  this  he  received  a  special  letter  of  thanks  from  the 
captain,  and  also  one  from  the  passengers  and  crew, 
signed,  '  your  grateful  patients,'  the  doctor's  signature 
heading  the  list. 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

s.s.  '  Goodwill,'  Stanley  Pool,  July  3. 

*  Pattie  duly  arrived  on  the  ist,  and  all  being  well  we 
start  on  the  5th  for  Bolobo,  and  hope  to  reach  home  on 
the  8th.  She  has  had  a  capital  voyage,  and  come  out  '  in 
good  order  and  condition,'  as  the  bills  of  lading  say. 
We  are  delighted  to  see  her,  and  are  very  hopeful  that 
she  may  be  quite  a  help  and  comfort  to  us.  She  has 
already  commenced  to  pick  up  the  language,  and  seems 


Two  Con^os  405 

in  earnest  about  it  .  .  .  Concerning  Congo  affairs  I 
imagine  you  are  better  informed  than  we  are.  There  are 
two  Congos,  one  with  all  the  paraphernalia  of  civilization, 
ports,  magistrates,  judges,  etc.  ;  and  the  other  in  the 
pangs  of  evolution,  and  still  in  the  dark.  We  are  in  the 
former,  and  know  very  little  of  the  latter.  The  question 
is  how  to  get  order  out  of  chaos,  and  how  to  let  in  the 
light ! ' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  October  g. 

'  Enclosed  you  will  find  my  reply  to  Mr.  Arthington's 
last  letter  (suggesting  a  journey  to  Lake  Albert).  My 
lazy,  selfish  self  says,  "  Have  nothing  to  do  with  schemes 
for  pushing  farther  afield.  Leave  them  to  younger  men." 
However,  the  more  I  think  about  them,  less  and  less 
does  it  become  possible  for  me  to  refuse,  should  I  be 
called  to  take  part  in  them.  ...  If  the  Committee  give 
their  consent,  I  certainly  dare  not  say  "  No."  .  .  .  You 
will  have  heard  of  the  four  baptisms  we  had  here  last 
Sunday.  We  were  over  forty  who  sat  down  at  the 
Lord's  Table  !  Our  hearts  were  greatly  cheered.  God 
continues  to  be  good  to  us  also  in  the  matter  of 
health.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

s.s.  'Peace,'  Stanley  Pool,  November  21. 

'You  will  see  from  the  heading  of  this  that  I  am 
travelling  again  in  the  good  old  "  Peace."  I'm  all  by 
myself,  for  I  left  Patience  at  Bolobo  with  the  child,  and 
Pattie  was  away  in  the  "  Henry  Reed "  for  a  visit  to 
friends  on  Lake  Mantumba  and  at  the  Equator.  We  had 
a  letter  from  her  the  morning  I  left,  and  learned  there- 
from that  she  had  been  sea-sick  (can  one  be  sea-sick  on 
fresh  water  ?)  both  on  going  into  and  on  coming  out  of 
the  Lake. 


4o6      'In  Joupneying's  often' 

'  With  the  losses  and  sicknesses  of  the  last  year,  you 
will  easily  understand  that  my  anxieties  have  neither 
been  few  nor  light,  for  the  burden  of  making  the  needful 
arrangements  falls  largely  on  my  shoulders.  .  .  .  This 
past  year  has  been  terribly  trying  for  Europeans  on  the 
Congo.  The  Government  and  traders  have  lost  very 
heavily,  as  well  as  Missions.  The  Baptist  Missionary 
Society  has  had  no  such  series  of  breakdowns  since  our 
"Black  Year"  1887,  when  we  lost  six  of  our  number  in 
seven  months  !  Of  God's  goodness  it  is  not  yet  so  bad  as 
that,  and  we  pray  that  the  present  total  of  four  losses 
may  not  be  increased.  .  .  . 

*We  are  expecting  to  have  three  or  four  weddings 
among  our  young  people  at  Christmas,  so  we  shall  have 
exciting  times,  for  the  townsfolk  turn  up  in  great 
numbers  to  see  how  the  "  Bambote  "  (as  we  are  called) 
manage  these  things.  Getting  married  (and  unmarried, 
too,  for  the  matter  of  that),  are  comparatively  simple 
and  easy,  after  prices  have  been  arranged,  among  the 
natives,  for  they  have  nothing  like  the  elaborate  cere- 
monies that  characterize  their  funerals.  .  .  . 

*  When  one  looks  back,  as  I  can,  and  remembers  what 
Bolobo  was  ten  years  ago,  when  we  first  commenced  our 
work  here,  one  cannot  but  be  encouraged.  Of  course 
we  wish  progress  had  been  greater,  but  still  it  is  no 
small  thing  that  we  have  a  Christian  Church  witnessing 
for  Christ  in  the  midst  of  the  terrible  darkness  that 
prevails.  Christ  is  being  uplifted,  and  there  are  un- 
doubted signs  of  many  being  drawn  to  Him.  Of  course 
we  have  our  disappointments ;  but  that  so  many 
stand  firm,  when  one  considers  how  hard  it  is  in  such 
circumstances,  makes  me  thank  God  very,  very  sincerely, 
and  fills  my  heart  with  courage.  .  .  .  The  Catholics  are 
putting  forth  great  efforts.     They  have  now  two  Bishops 


An  Awkward  Restraint     407 

and  lots  of  missionaries  and  sisters.  Their  Stations  are 
much  larger  than  ours.  Staffs  of  two  or  three  they 
would  count  very  small.  They  are  most  devoted  people, 
though,  from  our  point  of  view,  mistaken  in  their  efforts. 
They  do  but  very  little  among  the  townsfolk,  confinmg 
themselves  mainly  to  working  among  the  orphans  and 
slaves  that  fall  into  their  hands.' 

TO   MR.   HAWKES.        ^^    ^  p^^^^  ,  ^^^^^^^  p^^j^  ^^^^^^^^  ^^g^ 

'I  came  down  river  nine  days  ago  to  attend  the 
recent  session  of  the  Commission  for  the  protection  of 
the  natives.   The  proceedings  have  terminated,  and  I  am 

only  waiting  for  signatures  to  enable  us  to  get  away 

I  expect  there  will  be  considerable  influence  brought 
to  bear  against  the  renewal  of  the  Commission  after  its 
first  term  of  two  years,  for  which  our  powers  were  signed  ; 
for  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  is  felt  to  be  a  very 
awkward  restraint  upon  many  who  were  at  one  time 
practically  autocrats.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes.  h   .q^q 

Bolobo,  February  5,  1898. 

*  I  expected  to  be  away  up  river  again  by  this  time  ; 
but  first  of  all  Bungudi  was  sick,  and  my  "Peace" 
engineer  was  needed  for  the  "Goodwill,"  for  I  quite 
intended  going  in  the  "  Peace,"  and  then  again  Patience 
has  been  far  from  well.  It  is  now  six  weeks  since  she 
went  down  to  the  Pool  for  the  sake  of  a  change,  and  that 
she  might  secure  the  advantage  of  Dr.  Sims'  advice.  I 
had  a  letter  from  the  doctor  a  few  days  ago ;  he  says  he 
cannot  understand  the  fever  that  comes  on  every  evening. 
As  soon  as  the  "  Goodwill "  comes  down  river  I  shall  go 
down  to  the  Pool.     Grace  is  with  her  mother. 

'  Pattie  is  here  keeping  house  for  me.  Happily, 
Pattie  is  keeping  very  well ;    she  had  a  rather  sharp 


4o8      «In  Journeying^s  often' 

experience  to  commence  with,  but  has  been  capital  ever 
since.  She  is  picking  up  the  native  language  very 
quickly,  and  will  soon  speak  fluently  ;  she  is  seldom 
stuck  for  a  word  even  now.  She  is  quite  an  important 
member  of  our  teaching  staff  already,  though,  of  course, 
only  in  an  honorary  capacity  at  present. 

*  I  must  have  told  you  of  Bungudi  being  the  father 
of  a  boy — he  is  now  six  months  old.  His  poor  wife  knows 
nothing  of  our  fears  of  Bungudi  having  become  affected 
by  the  sleeping  sickness,  which  has  killed  so  many,  and 
for  which  nothing  seems  to  be  of  any  use.  Doctor  says 
the  symptoms  for  the  present  have  disappeared  ;  but 
our  experience  teaches  us  that  they  may  recur  at  any 
time. 

*  We  had  two  weddings  the  week  before  Christmas, 
and  are  expecting  two  others  very  shortly,  and  we  are 
getting  quite  a  little  village  round  our  station.  Some  of 
the  natives  (besides  the  poor  witch  folk  who  live  with  us 
as  refugees)  want  to  come  and  build  near  us,  so  that 
they  may  be  free  from  the  town  life  and  its  oppressions 
— for  Congo  heathenism  is  very  cruel.  It  is  something 
to  be  grateful  for  that  our  neighbours  are  having  their 
eyes  opened  even  thus  far.  The  Governor-General  has 
given  me  permission  to  appropriate  Government  land 
for  any  of  the  people  who  want  to  join  our  more  or  less 
civilized  community.  I  have  already  measured  off 
twenty-five  lots,  and  thirteen  of  these  are  now  occupied 
by  nice  clay-built  houses  that  are  quite  a  contrast  to  the 
usual  grass  and  mat  shanties  which  the  natives  content 
themselves  with. 

'  I  learn  that  the  railway  workmen  are  already  at  the 
Pool,  and  that  they  expect  the  trains  to  begin  to  arrive 
in  a  couple  of  months  or  so— and  then  for  changes! 
We  are  wondering  as  to  how  they  may  affect  us.' 


CARAVAN    ROAD,    CATARACT   REGION,    LOWER  CONGO. 


CONGO    RAILWAY    AND     RIVER    CONGO,     NEAR     MATADI, 
Photos  :   Mr.  L.  Goffiti,  Brussels. 


A  Joyous  g^oing*  Hence      409 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  March  i6. 

'The  blow  we  feared  has  fallen — our  dear  sister, 
Mrs.  Scrivener,  is  no  more !  Day  by  day  for  the  past 
week  we  have  been  alternately  buoyed  up  with  the  hope 
of  life,  and  cast  down  by  approach  of  death,  and  now  the 
end  has  come !  God  was  very  good  to  our  sister,  and 
strengthened  her  very  graciously  for  the  going  hence,  by 
the  manifestation,  in  a  very  blessed  manner,  of  His 
presence  and  love ;  and  we,  too,  were  all  comforted  by 
the  sweet  assurance  of  peace  with  which  she  left  us  to 
go  to  be  with  her  "Dear  Lord  Jesus."  "I  have  no 
pain  ; "  "  Every  doubt  is  gone  ; "  and,  "  All  my  old  trust 
has  returned,  for  underneath  are  the  Everlasting  Arms  ; " 
and,  "  I  am  very  happy,"  were  among  the  last  words  of 
the  last  moments  of  her  life,  and  they  yield  very  blessed 
memories  for  the  sorrow-stricken  husband,  as  well  as  for 
us  who  were  assembled  for  the  last  sad  scene. 

'Our  hearts  are  heavy  for  the  loss  we  have  sus- 
tained, and  also  because  our  work  is  losing  much-needed 
help ;  but  we  all  rejoice  at  the  blessed  manifestation  we 
have  had  that  our  Lord  is  King— that  He  is  conqueror 
over  death  and  the  grave ;  and,  though  we  weep,  we 
praise  Him  for  the  joyous  going  hence  of  our  sister,  to 
share  in  His  Kingdom  and  victory,  as  well  as  for  the 
soul-sustaining  vision  that  has  been  vouchsafed  us  of 
His  love  and  all-conquering  might' 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

s.s.  *  Goodwill,'  Yakusu,  May  lo. 

'  You  will  observe  from  the  heading  of  this  that  I  am 
"from  home" — have  been  here  for  a  fortnight,  and 
expect  to  stay  three  weeks  more.  For  one  thing,  I  am 
staying  till  Field  comes  up  in  the  "  Peace,"  to  replace 
Beedham,  who  has  just  gone  down  country,  homeward- 


4IO      *In  Joupneyings  often' 

bound.     In  the  meantime  I  am  serving  as  Stapleton's 
colleague,  and  taking  the  opportunity  for  visiting  the 
villages  in  the  vicinity,  with  a  view  to  finding  out  the 
best  "jumping-off  place"  for  the  Nile.     You  know,  I 
imagine,  that  Mr.  Arthington  is  anxious  I  should  start 
off  on  a  prospecting  tour  almost  at  once.     He  says  he 
has  ;^ 1 7,000  to  devote  to  his  scheme,  which  includes  a 
steamer  for  Lake  Albert.     I'm  not  at  all  pushing  the 
matter — it  seems  to  be  pushing  me.    I've  just  completed 
estimates  and  order  sheets  for  the  equipment,  so  that 
the  Committee  may  put   the   matters  in  hand  without 
further  delay,  should  they  decide  upon  pushing  eastwards. 
*  If  I  thought  any  one  else  stood  in  as  good  a  position 
for   making    a  success    of  the   prospective  journey   as 
myself,  I  would  gladly  back  out  in  his  favour,  for  my 
poor  old  body  is  weak  enough  to  be  quite  content  to  be 
occupied  with  a  less  arduous  enterprise.    However,  I  am 
glad  to  say  the  spirit  will  be  more  than  willing,  if  God 
but  points  the  way.  .  .  .  You  say  you  would  have  liked 
to  have  had  a  chat  with  me  at  times — not  more  than 
I  should  have  liked  a  chat  with  your  own   good  self, 
I  assure  you.     But,  so  far  as  one  can  see,  there  is  not 
much  prospect  of  it  at  present.    God  has  been  very,  very 
good  in  sparing  me  so  long,  and  as  one  gets  older  even 
the  near  future  becomes  increasingly  uncertain,  especially 
on  the  Congo.     When  the  necessity  for  my  going  to 
England  arises,  I  shall  pack  up  at  once— it  would  not 
take  me  long  ;  but  I  feel  my  place  is  here  for  the  time 
being.     As  long  as   I   can  help  things  forward  on   the 
Congo,  I  feel  I  must  not  turn  my  back  on  it.     When 
I'm  played  out,  I   shall  start  for  the  old  country  (if  I 
may).     I  know,  as  you  say,  it  would  do  me  good — it 
would  do  me  good  more  ways  than  one  ;  but  still,  the 
time  is  not  yet.' 


The  Bupg-omaster's  Visit    411 

To  THE  Rev.  J.  Howell. 

Yakusu,  June  5. 

'  I  am  glad  you  have  been  able  to  visit  the  people  at 
the  back,  and  only  wish  I  felt  we  were  strong  enough  to 
commence  a  campaign  among  the  people  to  the  east  of 
Bolobo. 

*  Here  the  country  seems  to  be  opening  up  most 
promisingly.  Stapleton  and  I  have  been  up  the  Lindi 
to  beyond  the  third  cataract.     Lots  of  people  ! 

'We  have  just  finished  roofing  in  a  new  house  of  the 
same  size  as  White's,  by  way  of  making  some  provision 
for  the  Stephens  and  my  daughter  in  the  meantime.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  September  3. 

*  The  Burgomaster  of  Brussels,  M.  Buls,  called  here, 
a  few  days  ago,  on  his  return  from  the  Falls.  He  is  a 
wonderfully  keen  observer,  and  I  expect  will  make  a 
"  few  remarks  "  when  he  reaches  home.  At  Bolobo  he 
took  the  greatest  interest  in  our  work,  and  put  some 
wonderfully  discriminating  questions  as  to  our  results. 
He  wanted  to  know  where  the  Bangala  people  were, 
when  he  saw  the  miserable  towns  which  to-day  are  the 
homes  of  this  one-time  important  section  of  the  popu- 
lation. He  spoke  enthusiastically  of  the  Falls  district 
and  its  prospects.  He  recognizes  that  the  Congo  fleet 
is  not  big  enough  to  supply  the  needful  traffic  for 
keeping  the  railway  employed.  To  us  and  our  work 
he  seemed  very  sympathetic  and  appreciative,  and 
allowed  that  "perhaps,  after  all,  your  methods  are  right." 
This,  when  I  was  referring  to  the  essential  difference  of 
the  modes  adopted  by  the  Belgian  missionaries  and  our- 
selves, and  especially  to  the  fact  that  while  they  secured 
a  large  number  of  children,  and  tried  to  transform 
the  whole  lot  into  a  new  and  separate  community,  we 


412      «In  Journeyings  often' 

brought  our  influence  to  bear  on  a  wide  circle,  and  chose 
therefrom  the  promising  ones,  and  those  who  had  really 
come  under  the  influence  of  the  truths  we  tried  to  teach.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  October  21. 

'  I  confess  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  I  had  to  go  away 

for  awhile  on  this  new  expedition.     It  would  almost  be 

as  good  as  a  holiday  for  me,  for  I  should  be  out  of  reach 

of  the  post-bags  up  and  down  river,  and  they  generally 

bring  me  something  to  think  seriously  about.     Just  now 

I  have  heard  that  Mr.  Jeffery,  who  was  on  his  way  up  to 

Yakusu,  was  so  sick  by  the  time   he  reached  Bopoto 

that  Mr.  Millman  had  to  take  his  place,  and  go  on  in  his 

stead.     I  also  hear  from  Mr.  Stapleton  that  he  is  no 

better — that  we  must  make  arrangements  for  relieving 

him  early  next  year.     And  also  I  have  had  news  from 

Mr.  Howell,  who  is  running  the  steamer  just  now,  that 

the  boiler  tubes  are  so  bad  that  it  will  be  a  marvel  if 

he  is  able  to  reach  the  Falls  !     I've  just  written  out  an 

order  for  a  complete  new  set  of  tubes,  to  go  off  at  once 

— and  so  on,  and  so  on,  till   I'm  quite  dumpy.     Still, 

God  is  good  !  and  I  know  He  reigns.     I'll  have  a  good 

sleep,  and  light  always  comes  in  the  morning ! ' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

s.s.  '  Peace,'  Stanley  Pool,  December  5. 

'I   am  greatly  distressed   that  during   the  year  so 

nearly  spent  no  single  communication  of  mine,  apart 

from  those  concerning  money  or  goods,  has  elicited  any 

response  from  the  Mission  House.     It  has  been  a  year 

peculiarly  full  of  anxieties,  and  my  heart  is  very  heavy, 

and  now,  to  add  to  my  sorrow,  I  am  told  of  Dr.  Biss's 

very   pessimistic    report    concerning    Bentley's    health. 

The   good    Lord    spare    us   all    the    grief    that   would 

come  of  Bentley's  non-return  to  the  Congo  ! ' 


The  Downward  Pull         413 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  December  12. 

'  Thank  you  very  much  for  the  coming  Bible — it  is 
the  sort  of  thing  I  have  wanted  to  order  for  some  time. 
It  was  due  at  the  Pool  a  few  days  after  I  left  on  the  6th, 
and  will  come  up  by  next  "  Goodwill,"  early  in  February. 
By  that  time  I  shall  be  at  Stanley  Falls,  I  expect — am 
going  in  the  "Peace,"  in  which  steamer  I  made  the 
journey  to  the  Pool  to  which  I  have  referred.  She  is 
getting  quite  an  old  craft  now,  but  she  goes  as  well  as 
ever  she  did,  and  I  like  her  better  than  the  "  Goodwill " 
for  some  things. 

*  Dr.  Glover  said  a  very  true  thing  in  one  of  his  recent 
speeches  (referring  to  missionary  effort) :  "  Remember 
you  cannot  pull  people  up  without  being  pulled  down." 
I'm  afraid  I've  been  pulled  down  a  very  long  way,  and 
quite  unfitted  for  the  amenities  and  restraints  of  civilized 
life.  However,  I'm  still  so  far  above  these  poor  folk  that 
I  can  keep  on  pulling  for  some  time  to  come  (if  God 
only  helps  me),  without  being  dragged  down  to  the 
Central  African  level.  So  I  am  not  giving  up  hope  of 
being  useful  in  some  degree  for  some  time  yet.  .  .  . 

'Our  Committee  have  sent  me  no  further  word 
concerning  the  proposal  to  push  north-eastwards.  It 
seems  to  me  the  Church  Missionary  Society  may  be 
counted  as  occupying  the  Lake  Albert  and  the  Nile. 

*  The  work  to  our  hands  is  that  immediately  to  the 
north  of  our  Bopoto  and  Yakusu  Stations,  that  is,  in  the 
Bahr-el-Ghazel.  If  I  had  not  been  tied  to  Bolobo  by 
our  shorthandedness,  I  should  have  been  pushing  in 
that  direction  by  this  time.  Our  up-river  staff  at  the 
present  moment  counts  but  eleven  on  the  field,  out  of  a 
nominal  nineteen!  You  good  folk  had  better  set  to 
work  and  pray  for  me,  if  I'm  to  be  saved  from  despair. 


4^4      'In  Journeying's  often' 

You  who  know  me,  and  would  like  to  see  me  again,  do 
you  think  I'm  likely  to  leave,  so  long  as  my  going 
would  make  the  ninth  gap  in  our  narrow  ranks  ? 

*  However,  I  won't  get  into  the  dumps — how  can  I 
when  as  I  am  writing  this  there  are  over  forty  young 
folk  squatting  round  on  the  floor  of  the  next  room 
singing  a  translation  of  "  Lo,  He  comes  with  clouds 
descending,"  to  the  tune  "  Calcutta,"  with  a  swing  that 
makes  my  poor  old  heart  beat  fast  again  with  the 
assurance  of  our  blessed  hope ! 

*It  is  a  fortnight  since  I  wrote  the  earlier  part  of 
this  letter,  and  now  it  is  New  Year's  Day,  and  I  feel  I 
must  not  let  it  pass  without  closing  your  letter,  and 
sending  you  and  yours,  on  behalf  of  Patience  and 
myself,  the  sincerest  of  good  wishes  for  1899.  The 
Lord  be  very  gracious  to  you,  and  bless  you  all ! 

'  We  have  commenced  the  year  by  a  baptismal 
service,  whereby  five  have  been  added  to  our  Church. 
God  be  thanked  for  this,  and  for  blessings  too  many  to 
count !  .  .  .  Christmas  Day  was  somewhat  dismal,  for  we 
spent  the  greater  part  of  it  extemporizing  a  smallpox 
hospital  for  the  four  cases  that  had  declared  themselves 
the  evening  previous,  and  for  the  others  threatening. 
Happily,  after  two  more  went  down  we  had  no  further 
cases — though  we  are  by  no  means  out  of  the  wood  yet.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  January  10,  1899. 

*  I  have  most  of  my  things  on  board  the  "  Goodwill," 
in  readiness  for  a  start  up  river  early  to-morrow.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Howell  has  left  us  this  afternoon  in  the  "  Peace,"  to 
go  to  the  assistance  of  the  "  Leon  XHI."  (the  new  stern- 
wheel  steamer  of  the  French  Mission),  which  has  broken 
down  for  the  second  time  at  a  point  about  ten  miles  up 
stream  from  Bolobo.     The  shaft  broke  right  in  two  just 


steamer  Disasters  415 

a  week  ago,  and  we  brought  her  down  alongside  the 
"  Goodwill,"  and  helped  them  make  what  we  all  felt  was 
a  good  repair.  They  left  our  beach  this  morning  at 
daylight,  and  at  noon  we  were  surprised  to  see  one  of 
the  Fathers  reappear  in  a  canoe,  with  the  news  that  the 
week's  hard  work  had  proved  in  vain. 

*  The  Bishop  Augouard  (one  of  my  earliest  Congo 
friends)  had  worked  three  days  consecutively  at  our 
lathe,  and  the  Father  and  the  two  Brothers  associated 
with  the  Bishop  in  the  steamer  work  (the  Bishop  is 
captain)  had  all  worked  from  daylight  to  dark  with 
scarcely  a  break  during  the  whole  of  the  time,  and  it 
has  been  a  terrible  disappointment  to  them  to  have  to 
forego  the  voyage  they  had  about  half  finished.  They 
were  on  their  way  to  found  a  new  station  up  the  Alima, 
The  "Leon  XIII,"  cannot  move  of  herself  again  till  a 
new  shaft  arrives  from  Europe  ;  it  is  possible  the  "  Peace  " 
may  tow  her  down  to  Brazzaville.  .  .  . 

'  Two  days  ago  the  "  Roi  des  Beiges,"  a  steamer 
about  twice  the  size  of  the  "  Goodwill,"  passed  Bolobo, 
being  towed  by  the  "Brabant" — hopelessly  broken 
down.  Early  last  month  the  "  Ville  de  Paris  " — till  July 
last  the  largest  steamer  on  the  river — broke  down  two 
days  out  from  the  Pool,  though  she  had  only  just  come 
out  of  the  repairing  yard,  after  being  two  months  in 
hand.  She  is  still  "  tied  up  "  alongside  the  forest,  wait- 
ing for  new  pieces  from  Leopoldville  to  enable  her  to 
move  !  Two  months  ago  one  of  the  finest  steamers  of 
the  State  fleet  was  hopelessly  lost  on  the  Kasai,  having 
struck  a  reef  and  foundered.  This  gruesome  list  of 
accidents  may  not  be  of  particular  interest,  but  it  will 
give  you  some  idea  of  the  risks  and  difficulty  of 
steamer  work  on  the  Upper  Congo,  and  of  the  strain 
involved  on  the  part  of  those  who  undertake  it,  and  at 


4i6      'In  Joupneying^s  often' 

the  same  time  emphasize  the  need  that  exists  for  the 
re-enforcement  of  our  steamer  staff.* 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

s.s.  '  Goodwill,'  Monsembe,  January  23. 

'Yours  of  November  30  overtook  me  at  Irebo,  and 
as  I  am  staying  here  to-day  to  plug  some  more  boiler 
tubes  that  have  given  way,  I  take  the  opportunity  of 
thanking  you  very  sincerely  for  all  the  trouble  you  have 
taken  in  the  matter  of  my  proposed  journey.  I  was 
hopeful  the  Government  would  have  seen  no  objection, 
or,  at  any  rate,  have  been  unwilling  to  formulate  an 
objection,  and  that  the  way  might  have  been  clear. 

*  Under  the  circumstances,  and  especially  now  that 
you  have  endorsed  the  policy  of  doing  the  journey  a 
"  bit  at  a  time,"  I  shall  look  forward  to  beginning  at  the 
earliest  possible  opportunity.  Whether  I  can  do  any- 
thing this  voyage  is  not  at  all  clear,  for,  having  come  up 
in  the  "  Goodwill "  instead  of  the  "  Peace,"  the  interests 
of  the  work  in  general  will  not  allow  of  my  delaying  the 
larger  steamer,  as  I  should  have  been  more  or  less  free 
to  have  done,  had  I  come  in  the  smaller  one.  Then, 
again,  there  is  the  question  of  leaving  all  the  steamer 
work  at  Bolobo  to  Mr.  Howell,  who  is  still  very  busy 
with  his  house.  .  .  . 

*  I  must  again  thank  you  for  kind  references  to  my 
home-coming ;  but  I  am  not  thinking  at  all  of  paying  a 
visit  to  the  old  country  till  the  need  is  much  more 
pressing  than  just  now.  I  should,  however,  be  greatly 
cheered  if  the  Committee  were  able  to  make  such 
arrangements  as  would  release  me  from  my  present 
active  participation  in  steamer  work,  say  for  a  year,  or  a 
year  and  a  half,  and  thus  set  me  free  for  "  forward  work  " 
for  that  time.  No  furlough  would  be  more  agreeable 
than  would  be  afforded  by  such  a  change,  if  the  money 


Interview^  w^ith  Govepnor    417 

for  a  small  caravan  and  travelling  expenses  could  be 
found.  .  .  . 

'Vice-Governor  Wangermee,  who  is  here  in  the 
"  Princess  Clementine,"  has  just  asked  me  whether  or  not 
I  had  finished  the  survey  upon  which  I  was  engaged,  and 
I  have  told  him  that  I  was  sending  the  sheets  to  you,  and 
that  I  thought  you  would  place  them  at  the  disposal  of 
the  State.  They  might  be  prepared  to  make  some  sort 
of  a  reproduction,  with  a  view  to  exhibition  at  Paris  next 
year,  perhaps.  .  .  . 

'The  Governor,  with  whom  I  have  just  had  an 
interview,  opened  the  question  of  my  proposed  journey 
— he  has  evidently  been  informed  from  Brussels.  In 
support  of  the  position  maintained  by  the  Central 
Government  in  communications  with  yourself,  he 
instanced  the  troubles  to  the  south,  which  I  told  him 
were  well  off  my  proposed  line,  also  that  Mr.  Lloyd, 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  had  come  through 
from  Uganda  in  the  most  peaceful  way.  "Well,"  said 
the  Governor,  "address  yourself  to  your  friend  the 
Commissaire  of  the  District — he  will  do  all  he  can  for 
you,  and  help  you  forward,  if  the  state  of  the  country 
will  only  permit  him  so  to  do." 

'I  sincerely  hope  I  may  soon  be  free  to  make  a 
serious  attempt.  As  yet,  as  you  can  see,  it  is  impossible 
for  me  to  leave  for  anything  like  a  prolonged  absence. 
.  .  .  The  Governor  inquired  very  kindly  for  the  latest 
news  of  Mr.  Bentley's  health,  and  is  most  sympathetic. 
I  trust  things  may  prove  not  to  be  so  bad  as  we  feared. 
Bentley  wrote  me  quite  hopefully  soon  after  his  going 
to  Bournemouth.  The  good  Lord  graciously  preserve 
him  to  us!  for  we  sadly  need  his  presence.  Recent 
events  at  Wathen  seem  to  especially  call  for  his 
experience  and  guiding  tact.' 

2  E 


4i8      *In  Joupneying's  often' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Sargent  Station,  Yakusu,  February  13. 

*  You  will  be  glad  to  know  that  Mr.  Jefifery  is  much 
better,  and  that  he  is  improving  every  day.  Mr. 
Millman  is  in  capital  health.  My  daughter  also  is  well 
and  happy,  and,  I  am  glad  to  believe,  is  rendering  useful 
service  here  at  the  front.  The  school  work  is  most 
encouraging,  and  capable  of  a  development  that  should 
have  a  most  important  bearing  upon  the  future  of  the 
coming  capital  of  Central  Africa. 

*  The  way  is  all  clear  for  our  making  a  journey  to  a 
point  some  five  marches  in  advance  of  the  point  reached 
by  Mr.  Stapleton  and  myself  last  year,  and  all  being 
well  we  start  in  the  morning.  ...  I  forget  whether  I 
told  you  that  William  Forfeitt  was  quite  content  at  the 
prospect  of  working  without  a  colleague  for  awhile.  He 
feels  it  would  be  better  not  to  call  in  mere  temporary 
help,  to  the  upsetting  of  some  one  else's  plans,  if  it  is 
possible  to  do  without.  It  did  my  heart  good  to  find 
him  facing  the  emergency  so  bravely,  and  with  so  true 
an  appreciation  of  the  best  course  for  the  work  as  a 
whole  !  He  runs  no  risks,  for  he  has  friends  on  all 
sides.  All  the  same,  the  Kirklands  should  come  out 
as  early  as  the  doctor  will  allow.  ...  I  have  nothing 
in  the  way  of  personal  "apprehensions,"  for,  whatever 
happens,  both  Arabs  and  natives  know  us  for  peaceful 
friends,  and  I  feel  sure  we  have  nothing  to  fear.' 

To  Robert  Arthington,  Esq.,  Falmouth. 
Sargent  Station,  Lindi  Mouth,  near  Stanley  Falls,  February  25, 1899. 
'  I  am  glad  to  report  having  been  able,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Stapleton,  to  make  another  journey  in  the 
direction  to  which  our  attention  has  so  long  been 
turned.      We    reached    the    Lindi    Falls,    where    Lieut. 


state  g^oing*  too  Fast        419 

Verstraeten  lost  his  canoe  and  some  of  his  men  in 
descending  the  river  in  May  last.  To  reach  this 
point,  where  we  found  navigation  quite  barred,  we  did 
six  hours'  marching  overland,  and  forty-two  hours  by 
water  in  canoes.  I  estimate  the  distance  covered  as 
about  130  miles,  but  that  the  furthest  point  eastwards 
was  not  much  more  than  26°  5'  E.  long.  By  observa- 
tion our  latitude  was  a  few  seconds  further  North  than 
1°  28'.  Roughly  speaking,  it  may  be  said  that  we 
covered  one-fourth  of  the  distance  from  this  place  to 
Lake  Albert. 

'  The  route  is  as  follows  : — 

10  hours  by  canoe  to  foot  of  rapids, 
6  hours  by  land  to  beyond  rapids, 
32  hours  by  canoe  to  the  commencement  of  the 
Lindi  Falls. 

*  It  is  hoped  that  a  portage  of  four  hours  will  enable 
loads  to  pass  the  Falls  and  reach  another  navigable 
stretch,  extending  to  a  point  say  half-way  between  the 
Congo  and  the  Nile  waterways. 

*  Just  now  it  would  appear  as  though  the  State  were 
going  too  fast  for  its  power,  and  a  crop  of  difficulties,  in 
addition  to  the  big  difficulties  of  the  Batetela  revolt,  is 
springing  up  over  quite  a  wide  area. 

'  On  January  26  Lieut.  Vanderschick,  stationed  on 
the  Lindi,  at  a  point  about  eighty  miles  beyond  the 
Falls  which  we  reached,  was  killed  by  the  Arabs,  and 
his  Station  looted.  On  the  17th  of  this  month,  and  two 
days  before  we  reached  the  Falls,  another  party  attacked 
the  Station  of  Bafwaboli,  some  twenty- five  miles  south 
of  the  place  where  we  turned  back.  Rumours,  that 
seemed  to  be  well  authenticated,  reported  successful 
attacks  on  posts  on  the  Aruwimi,  but  as  yet  they  have 
not  been  confirmed.     Happily,  the  attack  on  Bafwaboli 


420      *In  Joupneyings  often' 

was  repulsed,  though  the  Arabs  secured  several  women 
and  children  as  prisoners.  They  lost  ten,  at  least,  of 
their  fighting  men. 

*  On  coming  up  river  a  month  ago,  I  made  arrange- 
ments to  go  up  the  Aruwimi  as  far  as  Yambuya,  if 
the  water  was  high  enough  to  allow  of  my  doing  so ; 
and  then  to  proceed  by  canoe  as  far  as  Banalya,  to 
which  place  communication  seemed  to  be  fairly  well 
assured.  If  I  am  unable  to  carry  out  this  plan,  I  am 
hoping  to  make  another  journey  in  the  "  Peace  "  in  a 
few  months'  time,  and  you  may  rely  upon  my  sending 
you  an  early  account,  if  I  may  have  any  success  to 
report. 

'  The  only  route  not  known  to  be  barred  is  that  by 
the  Aruwimi.  If  the  present  unrest  continues  to  grow, 
I  shall  feel  that,  although  it  is  the  Lord's  will  that  these 
countries  should  be  opened  up  for  the  messengers  of  the 
Gospel  of  Peace,  the  time  is  not  yet.  Our  hearts  have 
been  refreshed  and  our  spirits  greatly  encouraged  by 
the  fact  that  during  this  journey  we  have  been  able  to 
speak  the  Glorious  Name  and  message  where  they  have 
never  before  been  heard.  The  joy  of  this  more  than 
pays  for  the  time  and  trouble  spent  in  searching  for  a 
way  north-eastwards.  May  I  have  more  grace  and 
ability  for  taking  advantage  of  these  opportunities,  and 
the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  all  things. 

'P.S.— My  heart  was  greatly  cheered  by  your  gift 
for  the  school  at  this  place;  it  was  most  opportune. 
We  have  already  three  of  the  Arab  children  here  for 
training,  and  can  have  a  big  school  of  them  as  soon  as 
we  are  ready.  This  in  addition  to  the  hundred  and 
more  young  people  who  come  daily  from  the  village.' 


A  Soppow^ful  Voyage        421 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  April  i6. 

'  It  is  just  a  month  since  we  buried  our  dear  Pattie, 
and,  it  has  been  a  sad  day.  It  has  been  a  blow,  this 
loss  of  ours,  that  has  hit  us  very  hard.  So  far  as  we 
could  judge,  she  was  entering  upon  a  career  of  great 
usefulness,  with  no  small  promise  of  being  happy  in  it, 
and  of  making  others  happy,  too  ;  and  yet  she  has  been 
called  hence !  My  heart  is  very  heavy,  but  I  dare  not 
complain,  much  as  I  miss  her  presence  and  help. 

*  We  left  Sargent  Station,  Pattie  and  I,  in  the 
"  Goodwill "  on  the  last  day  of  February,  and  though 
for  a  day  or  two  she  was  not  very  well,  we  were  not  at 
all  alarmed.  On  March  13  we  met  the  "Peace"  at 
Lulanga,  with  four  passengers  aboard,  and  there 
changed  into  the  smaller  steamer,  so  as  to  give  our 
friends  (Lawson  Forfeitt  and  his  wife,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Roger,  and  Howell  as  captain)  the  advantage  of 
the  bigger  craft.  On  the  15th  we  went  into  Lake 
Mantumba,  and  spent  a  very  happy  day  with  our 
friends  the  Clarks  (of  the  American  Mission),  Pattie 
sleeping  on  shore.  I  was  not  feeling  very  well,  so  went 
on  board  and  to  bed  before  sundown,  leaving  Pattie, 
with  the  arrangement  that  she  was  to  be  brought  off 
soon  after  sunrise.  Soon  after  six  we  were  under  way, 
Pattie  to  all  appearance  being  quite  well.  However, 
we  were  not  more  than  an  hour  on  our  way  towards  the 
other  side  of  the  lake  before  she  began  to  shake,  with 
all  the  symptoms  of  malarial  fever  ;  but  I  had  no  fear 
that  it  was  more  serious  than  the  attacks  to  which  we 
are  all  liable  from  time  to  time,  blacks  as  well  as  whites, 
on  the  Congo.  We  got  hot-water  bottles,  blankets  and 
physic,  and  went  through  the  usual  routine,  but,  instead 
of   its  being  a  case  of  the  ordinary  malarial   type,  it 


422       *In  Journeying's  often' 

had    declared   itself    most   pronouncedly    by    noon   as 
haematuric  fever. 

'  Pattie  then  knew  how  grave  the  case  was,  but  she 
said,  "  Don't  trouble,  dear  father  ;  I'm  not  afraid,"  and 
bore  up  most  bravely  through  all  the  distressing 
symptoms  with  which  this  fever  is  accompanied. 
Naturally,  my  one  idea  was  to  get  her  to  her  mother 
as  early  as  possible ;  and  under  ordinary  circumstances 
we  might  hope  to  reach  Bolobo  the  following  day.  But 
do  what  I  would  I  failed  to  get  the  "  Peace  "  along  at 
anything  like  her  normal  speed  ;  however,  I  felt  it  was 
better  to  keep  on  going  as  long  as  it  was  daylight, 
rather  than  lose  time  by  stopping  to  overhaul  the 
engines. 

'  As  soon  as  the  sun  had  set  and  we  had  "  tied  up," 
I  set  to  work  and  took  the  slide  valve  out  of  one  engine 
and  reset  it,  and  put  new  piston-rings  in  the  other,  in 
the  hope  that  things  would  go  better  on  the  morrow. 

'After  a  few  hours  of  troubled  rest  the  morning  came ; 
but  we  were  hardly  under  way  before  we  had  run  on  a 
sandbank,  and  you  can  imagine  something  of  what  a 
miserable  hour  it  was  that  I  spent  in  directing  the 
eflforts  of  our  crew  in  the  water,  in  pushing  the  "  Peace  " 
into  the  channel  again  ;  also,  how  bad  I  felt,  when  I 
realized  that  after  all  she  was  steaming  no  better.  We 
pushed  on  as  well  as  we  could  and  as  late  as  we  dared, 
and  then  anchored  in  what  I  felt  was  an  exposed 
position  ;  but  as  it  was  too  late  to  search  for  better  we 
hoped  for  good  weather,  and  started  the  men  off  to  cut 
firewood  by  the  light  of  the  moon. 

'  Pattie  was  so  ill  by  this  time  that  I  did  not  think  of 
going  to  bed,  and  did  my  best  to  wait  upon  her  through 
the  night.  Happily,  she  had  two  good  faithful  girls, 
who   did   their  best,   and   upon  whom  she  had  to  rely 


Mashiko's  Retupn  423 

when  I  was  looking  after  the  "  Peace."  About  3  a.m. 
on  the  1 8th,  the  thunder  that  had  been  rumbling  more 
or  less  through  the  night  became  pretty  continuous,  and 
by  four  o'clock  a  regular  storm  burst  upon  us. 

*  After  a  lull,  and  by  the  time  day  began  to  break, 
the  storm  was  upon  us  again  with  renewed  and  even 
greater  force,  blowing  a  lot  of  things  overboard,  and 
knocking  us  about  so  severely  that  one  stanchion  was 
broken  and  several  badly  bent.  I  feared  at  one  time 
that  the  cabin  might  be  carried  away,  but  it  held  on, 
and  after  awhile  the  wind  fell  and  the  sky  cleared.  We 
spent  some  time  in  putting  things  straight  a  bit,  and  in 
attempting  to  save  some  of  the  things  blown  overboard, 
but  were  too  eager  to  get  on  to  allow  of  more  than  the 
absolutely  needful  delay.  By  eight  o'clock  we  were  under 
steam  again,  but  going,  oh,  so  slowly !  We  ought  to 
have  been  at  Bolobo  by  this,  but  it  was  not  till  two 
hours  after  sunset  that  we  sighted  the  lights  on  the 
beach. 

'  As  the  news  of  "  Mashiko's  "  (Pattie's)  return  had 
preceded  us,  there  was  a  most  enthusiastic  crowd  waiting 
our  arrival,  and  the  welcome  was  literally  a  deafening 
one.  But  the  fact  that  Mashiko  was  sick  soon  spread, 
and  then  in  the  face  of  such  a  crowd  the  stillness 
became  almost  as  trying  as  their  shouts  had  been. 

'  Patience  was  soon  on  board,  but  poor  Pattie  was 
too  weak  to  more  than  smile  in  recognition  of  her 
mother ;  but  we  were  full  of  hope  that  she  yet  might 
rally.  We  carried  her  up  to  the  house  on  the  bed  upon 
which  she  was  lying,  and  got  her  into  a  hot  pack  (as 
recommended  by  most  recent  experience  of  specialists), 
but  neither  pack  nor  restoratives  were  of  any  use,  and 
the  end  came  a  couple  of  hours  later,  and  left  Patience 
and   myself  with   untellably   heavy   hearts.      Still,   we 


424       'In  Joupneying*s  often' 

thank  God  for  the  memories  we  have  of  our  dear  child, 
and  for  the  assurance  we  have  that  she  has  safely 
reached  the  haven  to  which  we  have  so  long  been 
bending  our  course. 

*  It  is  a  month  now  since  it  all  took  place,  and  yet 
this  is  but  the  third  time  I've  tried  to  write  of  it.  I 
shall  try  to  tell  something  of  the  same  tenor  to  Lizzie, 
and  then  quit  the  task. 

'  Yesterday  I  returned  from  Stanley  Pool,  having 
taken  Patience  with  me  a  fortnight  ago  on  my  journey 
there,  to  arrange  some  business  matters  with  the  State 
that  had  cropped  up  during  my  absence.  While  at  the 
Pool  the  Bible  (five  volumes)  came  to  hand.  It  is  just 
what  I  wanted,  and  I  am  yours  very  gratefully.  The 
book  Lily  so  kindly  sent  for  Pattie  I  am  sending  to 
Carrie.' 

To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

s.s.  '  Peace,'  Arthington  Station,  Stanley  Pool,  July  ii. 
'  I  came  down  from  Bolobo  to  meet  our  reinforce- 
ments, the  Kirklands,  Adams  and  Sutton  Smith,  who 
duly  arrived  on  the  Sth,  and  am  now  on  the  point  of 
starting  up  river  again,  the  fires  having  been  lighted  on 
the  "  Peace."  .  .  .  Pattie's  death  has  indeed  been  a 
sorrow  for  us,  and  Patience,  who  was  ailing  before,  is,  I 
fear,  seriously  aficcted  for  the  worse  by  it  !  She  has 
been  compelled  to  keep  to  her  bed  several  times  of  late, 
for  short  spells  of  a  week  or  so  together.  The  news  of 
Gertrude's  illness  has  also  added  to  her  distress.  Her 
cry  was,  "  Pattie  only  came  home  just  in  time  for  me  to 
see  her  die,  and  now  Gertrude  will  die  without  my  even 
seeing  her ! "  Had  the  news  of  Gertrude's  illness 
reached  us  a  few  days  before  the  Staplctons  left  instead 
of   after,    Patience   would   have   accompanied    them   to 


Imppisoned  by  Lov/  Water    425 

England,  taking  Grace  with  her.  Happily,  recent  letters 
have  removed  the  great  anxiety  on  Gertrude's  account. 
It  is  impossible  for  me  to  think  of  leaving  Congo  till 
further  help  arrives  ;  but  Mr.  Baynes  is  really  in  earnest 
about  my  coming  home,  and  is  trying  to  get  help,  and 
the  probabilities  are  that  you  may  see  me  next  spring. 
Patience  knows  it  is  risky  for  her  to  go  (she  must  not 
attempt  to  face  English  cold),  but  is  prepared  to  face 
almost  anything,  that  she  may  see  Gertrude  again,  and 
if  she  is  at  all  well  enough,  you  may  expect  to  see 
her  also. 

'  I  am  going  up  river  with  Sutton  Smith,  to  induct 
him  at  Yakusu,  and  expect  to  make  one  more  run  before 
finishing  my  going  to  and  fro  for  this  time.  Of  course 
I've  lots  of  routine  work  to  do,  and  many  things  to 
bring  to  a  focus  before  I  can  leave.' 

To  Mrs.  Greenhough. 

s.s. '  Peace,'  Sargent  Station,  Yakusu,  September  13. 

*  Just  now  I  am  practically  imprisoned  by  the  unusual 
fall  of  the  river,  and  I  am  taking  advantage  of  the  fact 
by  getting  some  letter-writing  done  that  I  have  long  had 
in  view.  We  very  narrowly  escaped  being  kept  below 
the  reef  that  nearly  bars  the  channel  of  the  river  some 
four  miles  west  of  this  Station.  It  cost  us  more  than  an 
hour's  very  careful  steaming,  and  no  small  amount  of 
anxiety,  to  thread  our  way  between  the  mile  or  so  of 
jagged  rocks  which  at  one  time  must  have  made  an 
impassable  cataract  at  this  point.  Now,  having  got 
safely  through,  I  am  going  to  wait  for  the  river  to  rise 
two  or  three  feet  before  trying  to  return  ;  for  it  is  not 
nearly  so  easy  to  pick  one's  way  when  going  down 
stream  as  when  running  against  it.  Normally  the 
current  is  not  much  more  than  two  or  three  miles  an 


426      'In  Journeying's  often' 

hour,  but  where  the  rocks  block  so  much  of  the  water- 
way the  rate  is  increased  to  five  or  six,  and  the  danger 
is  so  much  the  greater.  The  last  State  steamer 
that  passed  down  tore  quite  a  big  hole  in  her  hull  at 
this  place,  and  had  to  discharge  all  her  cargo  before 
she  could  effect  the  needful  repairs  on  a  sandbank, 
a  little  below. 

'Coming  back  to  this  place,  where  our  daughter 
spent  the  happiest  year  of  her  life,  naturally  awakens 
sad  memories,  and  none  of  them  more  sad  than  the  fact 
that  for  two  out  of  her  three  last  days  she  was  counting 
the  hours  that  must  elapse  before  seeing  her  mother, 
and  that,  do  what  we  would,  we  could  only  get  the 
steamer  to  go  a  little  more  than  half-speed,  and  so  only 
managed  to  get  home  when  it  was  too  late  for  her  to  do 
more  than  give  her  mother  one  little  smile  of  loving 
recognition — not  a  single  word  !  Poor  mother  was 
simply  overwhelmed,  and  had  far  from  recovered  from 
the  shock  when  I  left  her  early  last  month  to  come  up 
here.  In  fact,  the  whole  sorrow  had  been  opened  up 
afresh  by  the  news  of  our  second  daughter's  illness  in 
England,  which  I  had  just  previously  brought  up  from 
the  Pool.  .  .  . 

'Sargent  Station  is  slowly  developing.  A  really 
good  dwelling-house  is  now  practically  finished,  and 
we  are  engaged  in  getting  out  the  foundations  of  a 
school  70  feet  by  30,  and  of  a  second  dwelling-house 
50  by  20.  These  are  to  be  of  brick,  and  if  the  better 
grade  of  clay  required  only  holds  out,  they  will  be 
roofed  with  tiles.  Mr.  Roger,  who  came  here  to  tide  us 
over  the  emergency  caused  by  the  home-going  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Stapleton  and  Mr.  Jeffery,  is  devoting  himself 
very  largely  to  this  work,  and  under  his  care  the  school- 
boys have  already  made  some  40,000  bricks.     They  go 


A    FLEET   OF   CANOE    DWELLINGS.  Isangi,  Lomami  River,  189L 
Photo  :  Rev.  Win.  Forfeitt. 


Photo} 


STANLEY    FALLS. 


[Rev.  Win.  Forfeitt- 


story  of  Salamo  427 

to  school  part  of  the  day  and  work  the  rest,  and  seem  to 
be  quite  proud  of  the  part  they  are  playing  in  the 
replacing  of  their  present  clay-walled  school  by  a  much 
more  imposing  edifice  in  brick. 

'The  scholars  in  attendance  average  nearly  ninety, 
two-thirds  are  boys  and  one-third  girls.     At  the  service 
last   Sunday   about    150   were    present.      One   of  Mr, 
Stapleton's  Monsembe  helpers  having  married  Salamo, 
who  is  a  native  of  these  parts,  and  both  being  Christians, 
we  have  now  a  native  Christian  household  on  the  place 
— an  object-lesson  of  the  first  importance.     Salamo  was 
stolen  from  her  home  some  years  ago  by  the  Arabs, 
when  they  were  masters  of  the  country,  and  later  came 
into  the  hands  of  the  State,  and  through  them  to  us. 
Under  Mrs.  Stapleton's  care  Salamo  has  grown  up  to  be 
one   of  the   most  promising   Congo    Christians  in  our 
ranks,  a  most  interesting  and  original  character.    A  year 
and  a  half  or  so  ago  I  took  her  some  fifty  miles  down 
river,  for  her  first  visit  to  her  home  since  she  had  been 
stolen  thence  by  the  Arabs.     It  was  only  upon  coming 
up  here  with  Mrs.  Stapleton,  some  few  months  before, 
that  she  discovered  her  people.     Not  having  forgotten 
her  language,  she  is  quite  an  important  personage  on  the 
Station,   being   the   principal   interpreter,   and    in    that 
capacity  takes  part  as  yet  in  all  the  services.     But,  what 
is  better  still,  she  interprets  Christianity  by  her  daily 
life  apiong  the  people  in  a  manner  that  is  more  eloquent 
than  words.     The  Lord  bless  Salamo,  and  send  us  more 
Christians  like  her  ! 

'Working  through  interpreters  is  slow  work,  but 
our  brethren  here  are  pushing  forward  the  collection  of 
a  vocabulary  and  the  outlines  of  the  grammar.  Mr. 
Stapleton  has  already  made  considerable  advance  in 
this  direction,  and  Mr.  Millman  has  commenced  some 


423      <In  Joupneying's  often' 

tentative  translation  work  for  use  in  the  school.  Mr. 
Sutton  Smith — whose  journey  hither  has  been  the 
principal  reason  for  my  present  visit — having  on  the  way 
up  river  secured  the  help  of  one  of  our  Bolobo  work- 
boys  who  speaks  the  language  of  this  place,  has  already 
made  some  progress,  and  is  now  bending  very  seriously 
to  it  on  the  spot. 

*  The  proposed  railway  towards  Lake  Albert,  for 
which  the  engineers  are  already  surveying,  opens  up 
wide  possibilities  in  the  near  future.  It  seems  to  me 
our  Society  ought  to  push  on  and  occupy  a  point  about 
half-way,  say  two  hundred  miles  from  here,  at  a  point 
where  it  is  proposed  for  the  railway  to  cross  the  Ituri, 
and  thence,  as  occasion  may  offer,  move  northward 
towards  the  Bahr-el-Ghazal.  With  the  coming  ;£"  100,000 
per  annum  this  should  certainly  be  possible.  Would  not 
such  an  item  in  our  programme  be  a  powerful  argument 
towards  getting  the  money  ? 

*  I  dare  say  you  have  heard  that  it  is  likely  I  shall 
visit  the  old  country  next  year.  As  soon  as  the  way  is 
clear  I  shall  pack  up.  The  Committee  wanted  me  to 
come  this  year,  but  it  has  been  impossible.  I  shall  be 
very  glad  of  a  holiday,  when  the  time  comes  for  my 
getting  one,  for  1  am  beginning  to  feel  that  I  need  both 
a  rest  and  a  change.' 

Before  returning  down  river,  Grenfell  found  the 
opportunity,  which  had  been  denied  him  in  1898,  of 
ascending  the  Aruwimi,  and  his  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes 
describing  this  journey,  dated  Stanley  Pool,  November 
25,  will  constitute  the  next  chapter.  Three  days  later 
he  wrote  to  Mr,  Hawkes  :  *  By  the  end  of  the  week  I 
hope  to  be  at  Bolobo  once  more,  and  to  finish  a  voyage 
which  practically  commenced  on  July  5  ;  for  since  that 
time  I've  been  going  to  and  fro  almost  continually,  and 


A  Strang'er  to  Home        429 

with  never  more  than  a  few  days'  rest  here  and  there. 
The  consequence  is  that  my  letter-writing  is  all  behind- 
hand, and  that  I  am  almost  a  stranger  on  my  own 
Station.  Patience  and  Gracie  had  not  seen  home  for 
more  than  three  months.  .  .  .' 


CHAPTER   XVIII 
UP  THE  ARUWIMI 

Lack  of  Rain  causes  Low  Water  in  the  Congo— Scarcity  of  Food— 
A  Slave  Ransomed— Coffee  Plantations— Population  of  River 
District— Arab  Raids— The  Chief  Pitika  receives  a  '  Rating  '— 
Strategic  Position  of  Villages— Canoes  on  the  Aruwimi— Mode 
of  Poling— The  Rapids— Paint  and  Water— The  Current— 
Baluti's  Home-coming— Major  Barttelot's  Grave— Banalya 
Station— A  Native  Blacksmith's  Shop— Native  Bellows— Car- 
penters and  their  Tools— Basket-weaving— Game— Houses— A 
Blind  Youth— The  Chief  Pangani— Iron-smelting— Popoie 
—Crocodiles— An  Aged  Chief— The  Return  Journey— The 
Character  of  the  Natives. 

GRENFELL'S  account  of  his  journey  up  the 
Aruwimi  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Baynes  from 
the  s.s.  *  Goodwill,'  Arthington  Station,  Stanley  Pool,  on 
November  25,  1899. 

'  I  have '  the  letter  ran,  '  already  informed  you  of 
my  having  made  a  journey  for  some  distance  up  the 
Aruwimi  River  during  the  course  of  the  past  month. 
The  water  was  exceptionally  low,  but  I  was  able  to  pass 
the  rapids  in  face  of  the  camp  made  by  Stanley  when  he 
went  to  the  relief  of  Emin  Pasha  in  1887  ;  though,  seeing 
the  "  Peace  "  was  definitely  stopped  by  the  next  rapids, 
a  mile  or  so  beyond,  the  advantage  gained  was  barely 
worth  the  risk  and  the  anxiety  involved  in  piloting  our 
craft  between  the  rocks. 

'  I  have  never  seen  the  Congo  so  low  as  during  this 
past  season,  and  this,  together  with  the  unprecedentedly 
low  Nile  announced  by  our  last  mails,  must  be  taken  as 


Finding  a  Cousin  431 

evidence  of  the  lack  of  rain  over  the  basins  of  both  rivers 
— no  small  share  of  the  centre  of  the  continent.  I  fear 
it  means  hard  times  for  us,  as  well  as  for  the  Egyptians, 
for  already,  as  far  down  the  Congo  as  Bolobo,  and  also 
this  place  (Stanley  Pool),  food  is  dear  and  scarce.  At 
Bolobo  it  would  have  gone  hard  with  us  but  for  the  rice 
we  had  in  store  ;  and  while  here  we  have  been  compelled 
to  resort  to  some  extent  to  rice  imported  via  Europe. 
The  difficulty  is  accentuated  by  the  coming  of  a  score  or 
so  of  new  commercial  enterprises  to  this  neighbourhood, 
and,  so  far  as  one  can  judge,  the  difficulties  before  us 
are  more  serious  than  any  we  have  yet  encountered 
from  scarcity  of  food  supplies.  But  this  is  quite  apart 
from  the  Aruwimi  journey,  of  which  I  set  out  to  tell 
you  ;  and  I  may  at  once  say  that  so  far  as  food  was  con- 
cerned we  had  not  the  slightest  trouble  while  we  were  in 
that  region.  Neither  had  we  trouble  from  any  other 
cause,  for  everything  was  arranged  for  us  in  the  most 
complete  and  satisfactory  manner  by  the  officers  and 
agents  of  the  State  with  whom  we  were  brought  into 
contact  during  a  journey  of  some  270  miles  up  stream, 
as  also  on  our  return. 

'  The  first  ninety  miles  or  so  we  covered  in  the  "Peace" 
without  incident,  unless  one  counts  a  tornado  which 
compelled  us  to  "  lie  to "  for  three  hours,  and  the 
shooting  of  a  wild  boar  as  it  was  crossing  the  river,  at 
the  cost  of  another  half-hour's  delay,  for  which  we  were 
well  repaid  by  some  capital  meat. 

*  I  ought,  possibly,  to  count  as  an  "  incident "  the  fact 
that  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  our  engineer  found  one 
of  his  cousins  in  the  hands  of  a  chief  who  is  hostile  to 
his  tribe,  but  who  was  willing  to  release  the  said  cousin 
upon  payment  of  her  market  value  as  a  wife  or  slave. 
After  considerable  negotiations  the  ransom  was  fixed,  and 


432  Up  the  Apuw^imi 

the  young  woman  being  brought  on  board  the  following 
morning,  the  needful  calico  and  brass  wire  was  duly 
paid  ;  and  towards  evening  of  the  same  day,  to  her 
great  delight,  and  the  surprise  of  her  friends,  she  found 
herself  among  her  people  again,  after  having  been  practi- 
cally a  prisoner  for  nearly  a  year. 

'  On  the  Lower  Aruwimi,  that  is,  the  section  navigable 
by  light-draught  steamers,  I  found  the  people  much  more 
settled  and  tranquil  than  on  my  previous  visit  of  five 
years  ago.  I  judge  they  number  some  twenty  thousand 
in  the  villages  lining  the  river-bank.  The  four  large 
coffee  plantations  in  course  of  development  by  the 
Government  furnish  employment  for  a  great  many 
of  these ;  the  raising  of  food  stuffs  and  furnishing  of 
paddlers  for  transport  canoes  keep  the  others  more 
or  less  busy. 

'The  india  rubber  is  mostly  collected  in  the  forests 
at  some  distance  from  the  river  by  people  of  the 
interior ;  but  the  Aruwimi  district  does  not  appear  to 
be  populous  enough,  however  rich  the  forests  may  be, 
to  seriously  contribute  to  the  rubber  harvest  of  the 
Congo. 

*  The  Upper  Aruwimi,  up  to  the  point  from  which  I 
turned  back,  is  not  so  populous  as  the  river  below 
Yambuya.  I  think  ten  thousand  people  would  be  a 
liberal  estimate  for  the  villages  along  the  i8o  miles  or  so 
I  traversed  in  canoes.  Here  and  there  were  paths  leading 
to  villages  at  some  distance  from  the  river-banks,  but 
these  villages  were  not  larger  or  more  important  than 
those  on  the  river  itself.  It  is  very  evident,  however, 
that  the  population  is  much  less  than  it  was  some  ten 
years  ago,  before  the  advent  of  the  Arabs.  The  ruins 
of  the  old  Arab  posts  or  stations  are  still  traceable  at 
many  points,  as  were  the  evidences  of  very  considerable 


Survival  of  the  Fittest     433 

native  villages  having  at  one  time  existed  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  these  posts. 

'  However,  if  the  people  are  not  now  very  numerous, 
they  are  exceptionally  vigorous  and  capable,  and  so  in 
these  respects  in  some  measure  make  up  for  their 
fewness.  It  is  evidently  a  case  of  the  "  survival  of  the 
fittest,"  and  the  fittest  having  survived  the  Arab 
devastation,  which  in  some  seven  years  reduced  this 
once  populous  country  to  a  mere  wilderness,  have 
now  commenced  to  re-occupy  their  old  villages  and 
plantations. 

'It  was  in  1893  that  the  Arabs  received  their  first 
great  blow  on  the  Western  Aruwimi,  when  they  were 
driven  out  of  Popoie.  After  this  followed  a  time  of 
great  unsettlement  ;  but  during  the  past  two  or  three 
years  the  work  of  restoration  has  been  going  on  apace. 
Some  of  the  native  chiefs,  after  having  been  brought 
into  subjection  by  the  Arabs,  became  their  allies  (as  the 
Manyema  in  the  south-east,  before  them),  and  joined 
with  them  in  raiding  their  neighbours. 

*  The  State  has  had  a  difficult  task  at  times  in 
dissociating  some  of  them  from  their  Arab  masters ; 
but  everywhere  I  went  I  found  them  now  loyal  and 
obedient,  though  some  of  them  went  so  far  as  to  regret 
the  good  old  times,  when  ivory  was  paid  for  in  women, 
and  not  in  cloth !  I  heard  one  of  the  principal  of  these 
allies  say  that  if  ever  the  Arabs  came  back,  he  and  his 
people  would  take  to  the  bush  and  die  there,  before  they 
would  again  submit ;  and  I  believe  this  is  the  very 
general  feeling. 

'  I  am  very  hopeful  that  the  recovery  of  this  part  of 
the  country  will  now  progress  with  great  strides.  The 
Government,  recognizing  that  the  most  pressing  need  of 
the  people  was  the  protection  of  their  lives,  has  taken 

2  F 


434  Up  the  ApuAvimi 

the  power  of  life  and  death  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
chiefs,  and  has  issued  the  most  stringent  orders  with 
regard  to  the  ordeals  for  witchcraft  that  have  been  such 
a  terrible  drain  upon  the  population. 

*  It  seems  to  me  that  the  conditions  for  rapid  progress 
were  never  so  favourable  among  these  villages  as  I  found 
them  at  this  time.  One  old  chief  said  to  me  that  things 
were  very  different  from  what  they  used  to  be.  Now  he 
and  his  people  could  go  anywhere,  whereas  before,  if 
they  ventured  to  cross  the  path  of  stronger  neighbours 
they  were  always  liable  to  be  enslaved  or  killed — more 
probably  the  latter,  seeing  the  ever-pressing  demand  for 
"  meat  "  in  cannibal  countries. 

'  The  old  predatory  instinct  is  not,  however,  altogether 
a  thing  of  the  past,  for  at  Mupe,  the  chief  Pitika  (who  was 
once  the  owner  of  a  big  canoe  named  the  "  Leopard," 
because  it  went  about  catching  people),  had  just  previous 
to  our  arrival  made  a  prisoner  of  a  youth  belonging  to  a 
neighbouring  village.  Upon  seeing  this  the  State  officer, 
Lieutenant  Thornton  (an  American  citizen),  with  whom 
I  had  the  privilege  of  travelling,  demanded  that  the 
prisoner  should  be  set  free,  and  gave  me  permission  to 
do  the  cutting  of  the  ropes,  while  he  gave  Pitika  "  the 
length  of  his  tongue " — an  emphatic  operation,  and 
effectual,  though  the  offender  raved  and  protested 
most  eloquently  before  he  gave  in. 

'An  evidence  of  the  previous  insecurity  of  the 
country  I  found  in  the  position  of  the  villages,  for 
they  all  occupied  strategic  positions  on  elbows  at  the 
bends  of  the  river,  or  in  the  midst  of  a  chain  of  rapids, 
and  as  often  as  possible  in  the  vicinity  of  islands.  On 
an  elbow  at  a  bend  in  the  course  of  a  river,  a  village 
was  not  liable  to  be  surprised  by  hostile  canoes  creeping 
along  inshore  and  out  of  sight,  both  banks  being  visible 


Island  Retreats  435 

for  a  greater  or  less  distance  up  stream  as  well  as  down. 
Night  attacks  are  not  popular  in  native  warfare,  and 
seem  only  to  be  resorted  to  when  a  war  of  extermination 
is  being  waged. 

'The  proximity  of  rapids  is  a  protection,  because 
they  are  only  passed  by  the  use  of  punting-poles,  which 
make  a  great  noise,  and  give  warnings  of  approach  much 
sooner  than  paddles.  Also,  as  progress  through  rapids 
is  always  a  more  or  less  delicate  operation,  enemies  are 
at  a  disadvantage,  as  compared  with  those  who  are  "  at 
home  "  among  their  rocks. 

'  The  proximity  of  islands  is  an  important  matter,  as 
furnishing  a  safe  retreat  in  case  of  attack  on  the  part  of 
the  bushmen,  who  are  often  on  bad  terms  with  the 
riverine  and  fisherfolk.  A  retreat  to  an  island,  taking 
all  the  canoes  with  them,  is  a  very  effectual  piece  of 
strategy  against  the  forest  people.  These  are  pre- 
cautions that  are  not  now  so  necessary  as  under  the 
old  regime,  yet  the  people  are  naturally  occupying 
their  old  sites,  rather  than  establishing  at  new  ones. 
I  can  only  hope  that  the  Arab  yoke  has  been  effectually 
broken,  and  that  these  people  may  never  again  know 
its  bitterness,  and  also  that  the  administration  of  the 
country,  having  been  taken  in  hand  by  the  Congo 
State,  the  promise  of  security  and  prosperity  which  I 
recognized  in  the  new  order  of  things  may  be  very 
abundantly  realized. 

*  Communication  by  water  will  always  be  a  difficulty 
along  the  course  of  a  river  broken  by  so  many  rapids 
as  the  Aruwimi,  and  the  opening  up  and  development 
of  the  country  of  which  I  have  been  telling  will  be  all 
the  slower  because  of  this  difficulty.  Still,  if  it  had  been 
insuperable,  or  anything  approaching  thereto,  the  river 
would  not  have  already  become  the  regular  route  for 


43^  Up  the  Apuwimi 

large  quantities  of  goods  for  Lake  Albert  and  the  Nile, 
nor  should  I  have  been  able  to  make  the  journey  I  did 
by  canoe  over  so  considerable  portion  of  its  course. 

'  True,  it  was  not  always  agreeable  travelling,  but, 
thanks  to  the  officer  of  the  State  at  Yambuya,  who 
arranged  everything,  and  who  accompanied  me  during 
the  first  four  days  of  the  journey,  I  had  none  of  the 
worry  involved  in  carrying  out  the  details  inevitably 
connected  with  a  canoe  journey.  He  had  been  over 
the  ground  before,  and  knew  all  the  people,  and  every- 
thing went  most  smoothly. 

'As  evidence  of  the  thoroughness  of  the  transport 
system  established,  I  may  instance  that  it  was  not 
unusual  for  us  to  arrive  at  a  village  and  to  change  our 
twenty-five  or  thirty  paddlers  for  a  fresh  crew  and  be  off 
again  within  six  or  seven  minutes.  Of  course  it  was  not 
like  travelling  in  the  big  flat-bottomed  canoes  of  the 
Congo,  where  the  unbroken  course  allows  of  the  use  of 
craft  four  times  the  size  of  those  adapted  for  navigating 
the  rapids  of  the  Aruwimi.  Our  canoes  were  not  only 
more  unsteady  because  they  were  smaller  than  those  on 
the  main  river,  but  also  suffered  in  this  respect  because 
they  were  built  with  round  bottoms — I  ought  rather  to 
say,  perhaps,  they  are  "  dug  out  and  shaped  ; "  for  even 
the  biggest  canoes — those  requiring  sixty  or  eighty 
paddlers — are  hewn  out  of  single  trees. 

'  Round-bottomed  canoes  are  much  safer  among  the 
rocks  of  the  rapids  than  flat  ones,  for  when  they  strike  a 
rock  the  tendency  is  to  slip  off,  whereas  the  flat  ones,  if 
they  strike  anywhere  near  the  middle,  are  very  apt  to 
stick  hard  and  fast ;  and  if  they  strike  somewhat  on  one 
side  they  have  a  dangerous  tendency  to  capsize. 

'  For  considerable  stretches  the  Aruwimi  is  often  too 
shallow  to  allow  of  the  use  of  the  long-bladed  paddles 


A  Many-leg'g'ed  Spider      437 

of  the  district,  so  each  man  is  provided  with  a  punting- 
pole,  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet  long,  as  well  as  his 
paddle,  which  often  measures  ten  feet  over  all,  the  blade 
being  half  the  length.  In  our  canoe  we  had  sixteen 
poles  ;  half  of  these  being  firmly  planted,  sufficed  to  keep 
us  in  position,  while  the  other  half  made  a  kind  of  step 
forward,  and  these  having  found  good  holding-places 
would  suffice  for  pushing  us  ahead  a  little,  and  for 
maintaining  the  slightly  advanced  position,  while  the 
others  repeated  the  process.  The  movement  was 
somewhat  suggestive  of  what  one  might  expect  from  a 
spider  with  a  double  allowance  of  legs.  When  the  rapid 
happened  to  be  a  mile  or  so  in  length,  or  even  less,  this 
process  of  "  walking  up  "  became  wearisome  ;  and  if  a 
step  happened  to  miss,  as  it  sometimes  did,  and  we  lost 
in  a  few  seconds  what  it  had  taken  us  half  an  hour  to 
gain,  the  passage  would  become  exciting,  and  the 
possibilities  of  a  capsize  loom  large. 

*  Sometimes  a  rapid  would  consist  of  a  series  of  short 
perpendicular  drops  of  one  or  two  feet,  and  ascending 
it  would  be  suggestive  of  climbing  up  stairs.  In  such 
places  progress  only  became  possible  by  disembarking 
our  men  and  getting  the  help  of  the  crew  of  our  second 
canoe ;  then,  by  dint  of  combined  pulling  and  pushing 
and  lifting,  we  should  get  through  a  step  at  a  time,  and 
having  got  through,  we  should  have  to  wait  while  canoe 
number  two  was  being  brought  along. 

*  Almost  every  rapid  had  its  prey  in  the  shape  of  a 
broken  canoe,  in  evidence,  sometimes  wedged  between 
the  masses  of  rock,  sometimes  caught  in  the  branches  of 
overhanging  trees  ;  and  several  were  pointed  out  as  the 
resting-places  of  cargoes  of  beads  or  cloth,  and  one  as 
having  quite  recently  swallowed  up  ;^3000  worth  of 
ivory.     In   the   i8o  miles  beyond  Yambuya  we  passed 


43^  Up  the  Apuw^imi 

thirteen  rapids  of  sufficient  importance  to  have  secured 
special  names,  as  well  as  several  minor  ones,  so  the 
journey  was  anything  but  tame. 

'  Happily,  we  got  safely  through  them  all,  though 
not  always  at  the  first  attempt.  The  passengers  got  a 
good  shaking  from  time  to  time,  and  sometimes  a 
pretty  emphatic  sprinkling.  The  crew,  however,  had 
a  decidedly  wet  time  of  it,  for  they  had  often  to  work 
in  the  water  for  considerable  spells.  The  polemen,  too, 
would  make  a  false  stroke  now  and  then,  and  fall 
overboard,  taking  an  involuntary  "  header,"  to  the 
damage  of  their  paint  and  feathers. 

*  It  was  especially  the  paint  that  suffered  at  such 
time,  for  it  won't  stand  washing.  That  the  paint  was 
not  waterproof  was  very  often  made  evident  after  half 
an  hour's  work  by  the  rolling  perspiration  converting  a 
suit  of  white  or  red  pigment  into  a  series  of  stripes. 
At  first  the  effect  would  be  suggestive  of  a  striped 
"  blazer ; "  but  an  hour's  paddling,  to.  say  nothing  of  a 
fall  overboard,  would  be  usually  sufficient  to  wash  a  coat 
of  paint  down  to  the  region  of  the  paddlers'  feet  and 
ankles,  in  the  form  of  a  little  coloured  mud. 

'  I  found  that  in  still  water  our  sixteen  men  could 
paddle  us  at  a  rate  of  about  four  and  a  half  miles  per 
hour.  With  poles  over  shallow  ground,  or  when  our  two 
canoes  were  racing,  we  could  creep  up  more  than  five 
miles  an  hour  for  short  bursts.  In  going  up  stream  we 
found  we  had  a  current  of  one  and  a  half  or  two  miles 
an  hour  against  us.  This  would  be  in  the  smooth  reaches 
between  the  various  rapids.  In  the  rapids  we  had  a 
current  of  six  or  eight,  or  even  ten  miles  an  hour  to  con- 
tend with,  but,  happily,  only  for  very  short  distances. 

'  During  our  first  day's  journey  after  leaving  Yambu- 
ya  we  came  to  no  village,  though  we  passed  the  sites 


Baluti's  Home-coming'       439 

of  several  abandoned  posts  once  occupied  by  the  Arabs, 
as  well  as  evidences  of  the  country  having  been  at  one 
time  very  populous.  After  a  night  in  the  forest  two 
hours'  paddling  the  next  morning  brought  us  to 
Bakanga,  a  small  village  of  some  three  hundred  people. 
From  this  point  on,  native  villages  and  State  posts  were 
close  enough  to  furnish  very  convenient  camping-places 
till  we  finished  our  voyage,  which,  going  and  returning, 
lasted  just  a  fortnight. 

*  The  second  day  we  got  along  much  better  than  the 
first ;  there  were  fewer  rapids,  and  the  river  having 
widened  out  to  half  a  mile,  the  current  was  much  easier. 
However,  as  we  approached  the  picturesque  village  of 
Bobwote,  where  the  river  narrowed  down  again  to  two 
hundred  or  three  hundred  yards,  and  found  its  way 
between  masses  of  rock,  progress  became  slower,  and  by 
the  time  we  reached  the  track  of  the  village  it  was  time 
to  camp. 

'At  this  place,  Baluti,  one  of  the  members  of  our 
Bolobo  Church  who  had  accompanied  me  on  this  voyage, 
in  the  hope  of  finding  the  home  from  which  he  had  been 
stolen  by  the  Arabs  some  eight  years  ago,  found  one  of 
his  step-sisters,  and  learned  that  after  the  destruction  of 
the  village  of  his  chief  it  had  been  rebuilt  on  a  new  site 
about  an  hour  to  the  south.  His  mother  had  died  when 
he  was  quite  a  little  fellow,  and  now  he  learned  that  his 
father  had  been  killed  shortly  after  he  himself  had  been 
stolen  away.  There  was  now  but  one  of  his  three  sisters 
left  to  welcome  him  home,  though  there  were  other 
members  of  the  family  ;  but  their  influence  was  not  equal 
to  persuading  him  to  come  back  and  settle  among  them. 

'  He  is  quite  hoping,  however,  as  we  are  also,  that 
from  time  to  time  the  way  may  be  clear  for  him  to 
revisit  his  old  home,  and  to  continue  the  telling  of  the 


440  Up  the  Aruw^imi 

"Good  News"  of  which  he  took  the  occasion  to  speak 
during  the  two  days  he  spent  among  the  people. 
Happily,  he  has  not  forgotten  his  mother  tongue,  the 
"  Liaboro  ; "  and  as  it  appears  to  be  understood  over 
quite  a  wide  stretch  of  country,  he  will  be  able  to  render 
us  most  important  help  when  the  time  may  come  for  our 
commencing  work  there. 

'Early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day  we 
entered  the  Banalya  district,  and  I  was  enabled  to  visit 
the  site  of  the  famous  Emin  Pasha  rear-guard  camp  at 
that  place,  where  Major  Barttelot  was  murdered.  I  also 
went  a  short  distance  into  the  forest,  to  see  the  big  tree 
which  has  been  identified  as  that  at  the  foot  of  which  the 
Major  was  buried,  eleven  years  ago. 

*  The  present  Banalya  is  some  five  miles  beyond  the 
old  camp,  and  here  the  State  has  an  important  link  in 
the  transport  system,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Thornton  (an 
American)  into  whose  good  care  I  was  passed  by  the 
official  who  had  so  kindly  made  all  the  needful  arrange- 
ments for  me  at  Yambuya,  and  who  had  journeyed  thus 
far  with  me.  Banalya  is  an  important  administrative 
centre,  and  is  also  an  important  link  in  the  transport 
system  ;  it  has  also  some  hundreds  of  acres  of  coffee 
and  cocoa  plantations.  Two  lines  of  transport  converge 
at  this  point,  one  by  water  from  Basoko,  along  the 
course  of  the  Aruwimi,  the  other  from  Stanley  Falls, 
via  the  Lindi  River  (which  falls  into  the  Congo  close  to 
Sargent  Station),  and  a  short  overland  stage, 

*  While  at  Banalya  some  Lindi  people  came  in  with 
loads,  and  recognized  me  as  having  paid  them  a  visit,  in 
company  with  Mr.  Stapleton,  early  in  the  year.  They 
evidently  retained  very  kindly  memories  of  our  visit. 
The  transport  beyond  also  divides  into  two  lines,  one 
going  north-east  towards  the  Nile,  the  other  eastwards 


Banalya  Blaeksmiths        441 

towards  Lake  Albert — the  line  along  which  two  travellers 
have  recently  passed  from  Uganda  to  the  Congo, 

'  The  native  village  of  Banalya  is  one  of  the  finest  we 
saw  on  the  Upper  Aruwimi,  though  I  cannot  claim  that 
it  contains  more  than  some  fifteen  hundred  people, 
Lupu,  the  chief,  is  known  as  one  of  the  ugliest  men  on 
the  river.  The  officials  say  he  more  than  makes  up  for 
this  by  being  one  of  the  best  subjects  of  the  State  ;  he 
is  certainly  very  intelligent,  and  I  was  surprised  to  find 
he  knew  something  of  God  and  a  future  state,  having 
learned  from  the  Arabs  with  whom  he  was  allied,  or  to 
whom  he  was  subject  for  some  years. 

*  At  this  place  I  saw  one  of  the  best  native  black- 
smith shops  I  have  met  with.  There  were  eight  workers, 
but  half  of  them  were  required  for  blowing  the  fire,  by 
means  of  four  small  bellows  arranged  along  one  side 
of  it.  These  bellows  are  of  the  immemorial  pattern 
depicted  in  the  ancient  Egyptian  sculpture  pictures, 
and  of  the  kind  met  with  by  travellers  over  the  greater 
part  of  the  continent.  They  are  something  similar  to 
saucepans  in  shape,  the  wind  being  produced  by  rapidly 
working  up  and  down  baggy  coverings  of  skin  securely 
tied  in  the  place  of  their  covers,  and  finding  its  way  to 
the  fire  through  nozzles  protruding  from  one  side,  just 
as  saucepan  handles  do. 

'  The  anvils  are  blocks  of  close-grained  sandstone  set 
on  edge,  and  the  hammers  are  pieces  of  iron  in  the  shape 
of  sharp  pyramids,  being  about  three  times  as  high  as 
they  are  wide  on  the  face.  The  hammer  handles  are 
cleft  sticks,  through  which  the  tapering  hammer  is 
inserted  and  made  fast  with  split  cane — a  very  insecure 
arrangement  at  first  sight ;  but  it  appears  to  work  well, 
the  hammer  being  tightened  up  by  the  force  of  each 
successive  blow. 


442  Up  the  ApuAvimi 

Each  of  the  two  smiths  had  two  or  three  pieces  of 
iron  in  the  fire  at  the  same  time,  and  the  one  who  was 
doing  the  heavier  work — making  an  anklet — had  two 
hammer  men  to  help  him  ;  and  as  he  had  his  own 
hammer  as  well,  there  were  sometimes  three  of  them 
going  at  the  same  time  upon  one  piece  of  work  ;  and 
wonderfully  well  they  did  it.  Many  of  the  pairs  of 
anklets  weigh  seven  pounds,  those  Lupu  had  on  appeared 
to  be  considerably  heavier  than  those  I  weighed. 

'The  blacksmiths  had  no  tongs  for  taking  hold  of 
their  work,  but  each  piece  of  work  had  its  own  handle 
of  green  wood,  by  means  of  which  it  was  held  while 
being  wrought.  Very  intricate  patterns  in  fluting  and 
chasing  work  were  produced  on  knives  and  spears  by 
means  of  a  tool  like  a  cold  chisel  set  in  a  block  of  wood, 
over  the  point  or  edge  of  which  the  work  was  gradually 
moved,  receiving  a  blow  with  a  hammer  on  the  reverse 
side  at  each  movement,  the  pattern  being  provided  on 
what  is  for  the  moment  the  underside  of  the  work. 

'As  the  people  have  no  files,  they  very  carefully 
hammer  out  their  work  to  the  exact  size ;  the  smoothing 
is  then  done  with  sand  and  water,  and  the  polishing  by 
carefully  hammering  with  smooth-faced  hammers.  It 
did  one  good  to  see  the  industry  of  the  people,  for  theirs 
was  a  day's  work  so  much  nearer  the  fair  thing  than  is 
usual  on  the  Congo,  that  it  was  really  encouraging. 

'  There  were  also  several  carpenters  at  work  in  the 
village  making  bedsteads  and  pillows,  the  pillows  being 
carved  out  of  wood  as  well  as  the  bedsteads.  They 
were  also  engaged  upon  stools  with  any  number  of  legs 
from  five  downwards,  as  well  as  upon  dishes  and  upon 
mortars,  in  which  food  is  pounded  sometimes  before  and 
sometimes  after  it  is  cooked.  As  the  carpenters  have 
no  saws,  they  split  the  trees,  by  means  of  hard-wood 


Tools  and  Industries         443 

wedges,  into  suitable  pieces  for  the  work  they  have 
in  hand.  These  pieces  are  then  dressed  roughly  into 
shape  by  means  of  small  axes,  and  then  more  smoothly 
dressed  by  that  most  useful  of  all  their  tools,  a  small 
single-headed  adze,  which  seems  to  be  as  universal  in 
Africa  as  the  blacksmith's  bellows,  and  as  ancient.  The 
cutting  edge  suggests  a  three-quarter  inch  chisel  set  in 
the  shorter  arm  of  a  V-shaped  piece  of  wood  cut  from  a 
tree  where  two  branches  join,  this  shorter  arm  being  say 
five  inches  long,  and  the  other,  which  serves  as  handle, 
about  twice  the  length.  These  are  greatly  used  in 
hollowing  out  canoes  from  solid  logs  of  wood  after 
the  rough  work  has  been  done  by  axes,  and  also  for 
hollowing  out  dishes,  as  well  as  for  dressing  all  but  the 
smoothed  surfaces  of  all  kinds  of  wood  work. 

*  The  small  gouge,  with  a  semicircular  groove  of 
about  the  eighth  of  an  inch,  is  also  a  very  largely  used 
tool  for  producing  the  finely-grooved  surfaces  given  to 
paddle-blades  and  other  articles.  Planing  is  done  by 
means  of  long  sharp  knives,  or  broad  flat  chisels,  but  it 
is  paring  rather  than  planing.  A  good  deal  of  smoothing 
is  done  by  means  of  a  heated  piece  of  flat  iron  carefully 
worked  over  the  surface  to  be  smoothed.  Carved  work 
is  generally  finished  off  in  this  way,  and  patterns  of 
considerable  intricacy  are  also  traced  on  pillows,  stools, 
dishes  and  such  things  by  means  of  heated  irons  of 
different  shapes,  the  result  being  a  kind  of  "poker" 
work. 

*  Basket-weaving  is  also  quite  an  industry,  including 
as  it  does  head  coverings  of  various  kinds  as  well  as  all 
the  substitutes  for  boxes.  There  is  also  some  little 
grass-cloth  weaving  ;  but  the  principal  "  cloth  "  is  made 
from  the  inner  bark  of  a  species  of  fig  tree,  which,  after 
it  has  been  stripped  off,  is  soaked  and  beaten  into  a  kind 


444  Up  the  Apuw^imi 

of  felt,  and  then  serves  as  raiment  for  nine  out  of  every 
ten  of  the  men  we  met. 

'Being  thinly  peopled,  the  country  abounds  with 
game,  and  hunting  is  a  regular  pursuit  on  the  part  of 
a  considerable  number  of  men  and  boys.  Antelopes 
driven,  with  the  help  of  trained  dogs,  into  large-meshed 
nets  were  our  principal  resource  in  the  way  of  meat 
during  our  journey.  Some  days  we  saw  as  many  as 
three  brought  in  alive. 

*  The  Congo  people's  houses  are  of  the  usual  gable- 
ended  type,  with  a  ridge  sloping  to  each  side,  and  of 
any  size  from  that  of  an  earthenware  crate  or  big 
packing-case  to  that  of  a  railway  truck — this  last  would 
be  especially  commodious.  Here  on  the  Aruwimi  as 
well  as  on  the  Lindi,  the  tall  pyramid  form  seems  to 
have  displaced  every  other,  the  reason  for  it  being  that 
every  one  in  this  district  sleeps  with  a  fire  "  in  his  room," 
and  as  no  Congo  house  has  a  chimney,  this  tall  form  is 
the  best  adapted  for  relieving  the  sleeper  from  the 
attacks  of  the  acrid  smoke  upon  his  eyes,  the  smoke 
rising  into  the  long  shaft-like  roof  and  filtering  through 
the  leaves  with  which  it  is  covered. 

*  These  houses  range  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  in 
height,  and  are  built  of  a  bundle  of  long  palm-frond 
stems  tied  together  at  the  top,  and  spread  out  at  the 
bottom,  after  the  fashion  of  a  partially-opened  umbrella, 
but  without  "  the  stick,"  so  as  to  extend  beyond  the 
foundation  prepared  for  the  house.  These  long  stems 
are  connected  with  each  other  by  a  series  of  gradually 
widening  rings  of  cane,  upon  which  the  leaves  are  tied, 
and  are  so  braced  together  that  so  long  as  the  framework 
encircles  the  raised  foundation  the  structure  is  rigid  and 
stable.  In  the  eyes  of  the  natives  it  has  the  great 
advantage  of  being  portable,  for  as  soon  as  any  reason 


The  Blind  and  the  Dumb    445 

may  suggest  the  removal  of  a  village,  these  pyramids 
have  only  to  be  raised,  by  poles  pushed  through  from 
side  to  side  above  the  foundation,  and  they  are  quite 
collapsible,  and  can  be  put  on  board  canoes  and  carried 
away.     Of  course  new  foundations  have  to  be  made. 

*  I  was  glad  to  see,  however,  that  clay-walled  houses 
with  windows  and  doors  were  coming  into  fashion  at 
some  places ;  and  as  these  are  by  no  means  portable,  it 
means  that  the  people  are  being  convinced  of  the  power 
of  the  State  to  protect  them,  and  that  they  are  gradually 
losing  the  old  nomad  instinct.  In  any  case,  the  per- 
manent house  is  a  distinct  advance  towards  civilization. 

*  The  next  considerable  group  of  villages  beyond 
Banalya  we  found  at  the  end  of  another  day's  journey 
eastward.  It  was  just  beyond  a  point  where  the  half- 
mile-wide  stream  suddenly  narrowed  itself  to  some  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  or  so,  and  where  in  consequence 
the  current  was  especially  swift  and  dangerous  for 
laden  canoes. 

'Here  we  found  one  of  the  very  few  blind  youths 
we  have  come  across  in  our  journeyings ;  he  was  evidently 
quite  intimate  with  one  of  our  crew,  who  was  dumb, 
and  it  was  wonderful  to  see  how  well  these  people  got 
on,  notwithstanding  their  disabilities.  With  his  hand 
on  the  shoulder  of  an  attendant  the  blind  youth  ran 
about  at  a  great  pace,  the  narrow  paths  of  the  village 
and  the  neighbouring  forest  presenting,  apparently,  but 
very  few  difficulties  in  the  way  of  his  making  good  his 
flight,  should  the  need  arise.  When  he  had  no  attendant 
he  felt  his  way  with  a  split  cane,  which  served  him  much 
as  whiskers  do  a  cat  in  the  dark.  The  dumb  youth 
never  seemed  to  be  at  a  loss  to  make  his  wants  known, 
and  evidently  carried  on  quite  a  conversation  at  times. 

*  The  following  day,  after  traversing  the  reach  where 


446  Up  the  Apuwimi 

we  saw  the  first  hippopotami  we  encountered  since  leaving 
the  Congo,  we  arrived  at  Bululu,  the  port  of  the  iron- 
mining  district  under  the  chief  Pangani,  some  two  days' 
march  overland  to  the  north.  Pangani  is  the  only  chief 
in  the  district  who  never  submitted  to  the  Arabs ;  but 
this,  possibly,  is  as  much  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Arabs 
recognized  the  value  of  the  iron  produced  as  it  is  to  the 
resistance  of  the  producers,  for  wherever  the  raiders 
went  they  recognized  it  was  needful  to  leave  a  certain 
proportion  of  the  people,  to  cultivate  food,  to  carry 
loads,  and  to  paddle  transport  canoes. 

*  The  iron-stone,  which  is  especially  rich,  is  smelted 
in  small  ant-hill-like  cupolas,  in  which  it  is  placed 
together  with  a  certain  quantity  of  charcoal.  Fire 
being  applied,  a  strong  blast  is  maintained  by  means  of 
bellows  similar  to  those  used  by  the  native  blacksmiths, 
till  the  melting  iron  flows  through  a  blowhole,  and 
takes  the  form  of  a  rough  ingot  in  a  groove  in  the  earth 
prepared  for  it.  Each  ingot  or  "  pig "  weighs  about 
twenty-five  or  thirty  pounds,  and  is  worth  four  yards  of 
strong  calico. 

*  These  ingots  are  "  puddled "  or  hammered  into 
bars  about  one  inch  wide  and  half  an  inch  thick,  and 
these  are  again  worked  up  into  blanks  for  knives,  spears, 
axes,  hoes  and  such-like  things.  These  blanks  or 
"  forms  "  have  a  recognized  value  as  currency,  and  are 
distributed  over  a  very  wide  area,  to  be  eventually 
transformed  into  finished  articles,  according  to  the  skill 
and  taste  of  the  village  blacksmiths  and  the  fashions 
which  obtain  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  This 
iron  is  very  soft,  and  very  tough,  and  can  be  worked  up 
into  the  most  intricate  shapes,  and  is  capable  of  taking 
a  high  polish,  but  the  natives  know  nothing  about 
converting  it  into  steel ;  their  only  process  of  hardening 


Man-Stealing"  Crocodiles     447 

is  that  of  much  hammering,  but  their  thin-bladed  razors 
shave  with  wonderful  ease  and  clearness. 

'  Another  day's  journey  brought  us  to  Mumbomboli, 
which  is  the  point  of  departure  for  Popoie,  lying  about 
five  miles  to  the  south,  whither  we  wended  our  way  the 
day  following.  Popoie  was  originally  an  important  Arab 
centre  of  operations  over  a  wide  district ;  but  the  Arabs 
were  driven  from  it  by  the  Congo  State  some  six  years 
ago,  and  since  then  some  five  hundred  acres  of  land  in 
the  neighbourhood  has  been  planted  with  coffee  and 
cocoa.  It  is  on  an  affluent  of  the  Aruwimi,  and  one  can 
go  right  up  to  the  station  compound  by  canoe  at  high 
water.  This  fact  will  be  of  great  importance,  when  the 
crops  have  to  be  sent  down  river. 

'  This  affluent  is  notorious  for  the  number  of  crocodiles 
that  swarm  there,  as  well  as  for  their  boldness.  They 
are  so  bold  that  they  have  ventured  up  into  the  station 
yard,  and  carried  off  sleepers  who,  according  to  native 
custom  on  hot  nights,  were  sleeping  outside  their  rooms. 

*  On  returning  to  Mumbomboli  we  had  an  interview 
with  the  chief,  a  very,  very  old  man,  as  natives  go,  but 
probably  not  more  than  eighty.  He  was  very  weak 
and  feeble,  but  mentally  was  quite  alert,  and  I  could 
not  help  being  struck  with  the  resemblance  he  bore  to 
the  mummy  of  Rameses  the  Second.  His  face,  with 
its  clean-cut  features,  the  colour  of  the  skin,  and  the 
prominence  of  the  bones,  made  up  a  picture  that  was  a 
startling  likeness  of  the  ancient  Pharaoh.  If  faces  go 
for  anything,  this  old  chief  must  have  been  a  wonder- 
fully energetic  and  capable  man,  but  he  was  now  only 
a  ruin. 

'Yet  another  day's  journey  and  we  reached  Mukupi, 
the  northernmost  point  in  the  course  of  the  Aruwimi,  and 
the  end  of  our  voyage.     At  no  place  had  we  covered  the 


448  Up  the  Apuvrimi 

second  parallel  of  North  latitude,  though  we  had  been 
within  a  mile  or  two  of  it.  The  valley  of  the  Aruwimi 
is  practically  a  continuation  of  the  great  northern  bend 
of  the  Congo  towards  the  east. 

'  The  following  day  we  set  out  on  our  return,  and, 
coming  down  stream  at  a  greater  distance  from  the 
shore  than  when  ascending,  I  was  more  than  ever 
impressed  by  the  flatness  of  the  country.  During  the 
whole  two  hundred  and  seventy  miles  there  were  very 
few  hills  of  a  hundred  feet,  and  none  that  exceeded 
a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  river.  It 
was  very  plain  from  the  water-marks  on  the  trees  that 
when  the  Aruwimi  is  in  flood  the  river  is  ten  or  twelve 
feet  higher  than  at  the  time  of  our  journey,  and  that  a 
very  considerable  tract  of  country  must  be  inundated. 
From  the  presence  of  so  many  rapids  one  would  expect 
to  find  the  river  flowing  through  a  hilly  if  not  a 
mountainous  district ;  but  we  found  it  to  be  low  and 
flat,  and  covered  everywhere,  excepting  on  the  planta- 
tion ground  and  sides  of  villages,  by  the  dense  forest 
Stanley  so  graphically  describes.  It  is  a  country  of  great 
natural  resources,  but  lacks  people  to  develop  them. 

'I  cannot  claim  that  this  journey  has  been  an 
important  one,  but  it  has  certainly  been  very  interesting. 
At  the  same  time  I  could  not  help  being  very,  very  sad, 
as  I  realized  the  sorrows  of  these  poor  people,  and  all 
the  more  sad,  when  I  remembered  that  as  these  are, 
so  are  they  that  remain  of  all  the  tribes  between  this 
and  the  Bahr-el-Ghazal  on  the  north,  and  the  Nile  on 
the  east. 

'  My  heart  aches  for  these  poor  survivors  of  the  Arab 
sway.  Theirs  must  be  a  vigorous  and  resourceful  race, 
or  so  many  of  them  would  not  have  survived  the  terrible 
cruelty  and  nameless  horrors  to  which  they  have  been  so 


A  Grand  Opportunity 


449 


long  subjected.  I  cannot  urge  that  their  numbers  are 
such  as  to  promise  a  great  and  immediately  prosperous 
field  for  mission  effort,  but  they  certainly  belong  to  no 
decadent  race,  and  it  seems  to  me  they  are  just  at  that 
stage  when  they  would  be  readily  susceptible  to  the 
influence  of  wise-minded  and  sympathetic  followers  of 
the  Master,  who  would  have  a  grand  opportunity  to  help 
in  the  moulding  of  a  people  evidently  destined  to  play 
no  small  part  in  the  future  of  the  country,  and  a  part 
that  would  be  immeasurably  the  happier  if  they  could 
be  brought  under  the  influence  of  Christian  teaching, 
and  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  be  established  in  their 
midst.' 


2  G 


CHAPTER    XIX 
ILLNESS  AND   LAST    FURLOUGH 

Plans  Frustrated— Grenfell's  Serious  Illness— Discussion  about  a 
Sheep— Storms  and  Wrecks— Grace  Grenfell  on  her  Travels— 
A  Revolt  at  Boma— The  Voyage  Home— Proposed  Appeal  to 
Principals  of  Colleges— Passage  about  Newspaper  Men— 
Grenfell  at  Brussels— Illness  of  Himself  and  Colleagues— His 
Welcome  to  Mr.  Lav^son  Forfeitt— Another  Breakdown- 
Letter  of  Mr.  Howell— Farewells. 

ON  February  5,  1898,  in  writing  to  Miss  Hawkes, 
Grenfell  remarked  :  '  People  are  beginning  to  talk 
of  my  going  home,  but  I  see  no  prospect  of  it  ;  for  so 
long  as  I  keep  as  well  as  I  am,  and  am  wanted  so  much 
out  here,  I  shall  not  think  it  right  to  go  holiday-making  : 
though  for  many  reasons  I  should  enjoy  it  immensely.' 

Kindly  and  well-advised  people  continued  to  talk  of 
his  going  home,  but  he  remained  at  work,  believing 
himself  to  be  wanted  and  able.  Two  years  after  writing 
the  sentence  here  quoted,  at  the  end  of  January,  1900, 
we  find  him  starting  out  upon  a  long  voyage  from 
Stanley  Pool  to  Yakusu.  He  had  gone  down  to  the 
Pool  to  meet  the  Stonelakes,  whom  he  purposed  to 
'  show  the  round  of  the  up-river  stations,'  and  when  that 
bit  of  work  was  accomplished,  he  would  '  return  to  Bolobo 
and  pack  up  for  home.' 

In  forecasting  this  project  he  writes  :  '  But  these  are 
plans,  and  on  the  Congo  they  are  exceeding  likely  to  be 


Broken  Plans  451 

broken  in  upon  by  the  unexpected,  which  so  often 
happens.  I  shall  be  very  glad  of  a  period  of  rest  and 
change  ;  but  I  am  wondering  if  rest  and  change  will 
ever  set  me  up  as  I  feel  I  need.  That  I  am  feeling  a 
great  deal  older  than  when  I  saw  you  last,  I  suppose  is 
not  wonderful  when  one  counts  the  time  that  has  passed.' 

The  plans  were  'broken  in  upon,'  according  to  his 
own  word  ;  but  whether  the  happening  was  *  the  un- 
expected '  to  any  other  than  himself,  it  would  be  rash 
to  affirm.  On  reaching  Monsembe  he  was  overtaken  by 
illness,  which  he  himself  describes  as  perhaps  the  most 
serious  which  he  had  suffered  in  Africa.  The  brothers 
Stonelake,  whom  he  was  intending  to  take  as  far  as 
Yakusu,  brought  him  back  to  Bolobo,  on  March  12. 
On  the  1 5th  the  *  Goodwill '  started  again  on  her  up-river 
voyage,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Howell.  The  fever  was  obsti- 
nate this  time,  and  his  prostration  was  very  great ;  but 
in  his  weakness  he  took  the  keenest  interest  in  Mission 
matters,  and  taxed  his  sorely-wearied  hand  and  brain  to 
render  what  service  was  possible  in  the  form  of  counsel 
and  sympathy. 

Writing  on  April  i  to  Mr.  William  Forfeitt,  of 
Bopoto,  he  says  :  *  You  will  have  heard  of  my  having 
had  to  turn  back  at  Monsembe,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
abandon  the  hope  I  had  of  seeing  you  all  once  more 
before  starting  for  the  old  country.  I  was  very  much 
"set"  on  the  journey  ;  but  the  Lord  evidently  thought 
it  much  less  important  that  I  should  make  it  than  I  did 
myself.  You  will  be  glad  to  know  that  the  improvement 
the  "  Goodwill "  was  able  to  report  has  been  followed 
by  further  progress,  though  I  am  still  very  weak.  I 
have  a  daily  range  of  temperature  of  about  three 
degrees,  finishing  the  day  usually  as  much  above  normal 
as  I  commenced  it  below.     Can't  yet  take  solid  food, 


452 


Illness  and  Last  Furlough 


and  am  longing  for  your  tomatoes  with  a  great  longing. 
If  I  could  only  get  up  sufficient  energy  to  do  the  little 
packing  required,  I  think  I  should  venture  upon  the 
railway  journey,  though  it  will  be  no  small  ordeal  for  me 
to  do  the  needful  "  sitting  up."  I  am  hoping,  however,  to 
make  more  rapid  progress  during  the  coming  week,  and 
to  be  ready  for  starting  the  week  after.' 

A  week  later,  writing  to  Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes,  Grenfell 
mentions  the  change  of  plans  brought  about  by  his  ill- 
ness, tells  of  his  return  to  Bolobo  from  Monsembe,  and 
continues  :  '  This  was  a  month  ago.  Thank  God,  since 
then  I  have  been  gradually  getting  better,  and  am  now 
comparatively  strong  again.  Up  till  five  days  ago  I 
have  been  living  on  milk,  soup,  and  such-like  things  ;  I 
then  began  on  a  little  fish.  Yesterday  I  took  some  fowl, 
and  so  am  pulling  myself  together  at  a  good  pace.  I 
suppose  this  has  been  my  most  serious  illness  for  many 
years,  and  I  imagine  it  came  very  near  to  leaving  me  at 
Monsembe  for  good.  However,  it  seems  as  though  the 
Lord  has  still  something  for  me  to  do :  I  had  therefore 
better  get  away  home,  and  pick  up  the  strength  for 
doing  it.  All  being  well,  we  leave  here  on  the  12th  in 
the  "  Peace  "—I'm  not  going  all  the  way  in  the  "  Peace  " 
—and  ought  to  be  in  England  by  the  close  of  May.* 

Two  months  later,  on  April  10,  he  writes  again  to 
Mr.  Howell,  reporting  progress  that  is  slower  than  was 
hoped  for,  and  continued  fluctuations  of  temperature. 
The  letter  proves  that,  in  spite  of  illness,  he  has  been 
attending  to  Mission  business,  and  contains  many  and 
minute  details  concerning  the  engagements  and  payment 
of  sundry  work-people.  He  is  busy  with  steamer 
accounts,  but  his  illness  has  prevented  him  from  making 
them  complete.  An  inserted  postscript,  dated  April  11, 
runs :  'Have  had  a  try  to  make  out  expenses  for  the 


The  Case  of  a  Sheep         453 

journey,  and  the  result  is  5738  (brass  rods),  but  I  can't 
guarantee  the  figures.'  There  follows  a  quaint  item  of 
news,  illustrating  the  diversity  and  subtlety  of  the  cares 
that  may  burden  the  attention  of  a  sick  missionary. 

'  Just  now  there  is  a  big  discussion  on  between  your 
boys  and  ours  about  a  certain  sheep  with  a  brown- 
spotted  face.  We  intended  taking  it  to  the  Pool,  but 
as  the  matter  stands  we  leave  it  for  you  to  see.  It  seems 
quite  at  home  among  our  sheep,  and  the  evidence  is 
strongly  in  our  favour,  so  we  conceive.  But  if  you  have 
a  mark  or  any  certain  knowledge,  that  will  settle  the 
matter.* 

Anxiety  about  the  'Goodwill,'  which  Mr.  Howell 
is  navigating,  is  also  a  perceptible  addition  to  his 
care.  '  We  have  had  very  bad  weather,  and  have 
often  been  with  you  in  thought.  The  big  barge  [of 
the  State]  at  anchor  one  night  parted  her  chain  in  a 
tornado,  and  drifted  on  to  the  rocks  below  Chumbiri. 
This  was  a  fortnight  ago,  and  as  yet  she  has  not  reached 
Bolobo.  Costermans  has  been  up  looking  after  the 
lifting  and  repairing  ;  her  stern  went  down  under  water 
again.  The  "  Deliverance  "  has  been  on  the  rocks  just 
below  Kwa.  It  is  only  the  bad  weather  that  makes  me 
anxious  about  the  "Goodwill,"  and  I  shall  indeed  be 
glad  to  know  that  all  has  gone  well  with  you.  One  of 
the  storms  we  have  had  was  very  like  that  April  tornado 
that  did  such  damage  at  Dr.  Sims'  place.  We  only  put 
the  "  Peace  "  in  the  water  yesterday,  so  have  escaped  the 
wearing  of  bad  weather  on  our  beach.  It  is  only  during 
the  last  two  or  three  days  that  the  river  has  begun  to 
rise.     It  is  still  very  low.' 

Of  the  railway  journey  from  Stanley  Pool  to 
Matadi,  which  Grenfell  had  looked  forward  to  with 
some  personal  apprehension,  only  two   details  can  be 


454    Illness  and  Last  Furlough 

recorded.  The  first  is  that  it  was  made  without  cost 
to  the  Mission.  The  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt,  having 
apprised  the  Director  of  the  Congo  Railway  Company 
of  Mr.  Grenfell's  intended  journey,  that  oflficial  very 
kindly  granted  free  passes  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grenfell, 
and  secured  for  them  every  possible  courtesy  and 
consideration  on  the  way. 

The  second  detail  is  given  by  Grenfell  in  a 
subsequent  letter.  His  little  daughter  Grace,  who  was 
blithe  as  a  bird  during  the  big  ocean  voyage,  was  sick 
every  half-hour  in  the  train.  Perhaps  her  steamer  life 
on  the  Congo  had  prepared  her  for  the  bigger 
experience.  Writing  at  sea,  her  father  says:  'She 
does  not  seem  to  feel  the  steamer  rolling,  but  when 
the  gunwale  goes  over  toward  the  horizon  she  says : 
•*  Keka,  ebali  ekobata !  "  [Look,  the  river  is  climbing  up !] 
She  is  puzzled  by  the  quantity  of  "  blue  "  and  "  soap- 
suds "  in  the  water,  and  by  the  absence  of  sandbanks.' 

At  Matadi  the  travellers  were  affectionately  received 
and  tenderly  cared  for  by  their  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lawson  Forfeitt.  As  the  home-going  steamer  '  Albert- 
ville'  was  timed  to  lie  some  days  at  Boma,  Grenfell 
determined  to  prolong  his  stay  at  Matadi  till  the  last 
possible  moment,  and  then  to  drop  down  river  in  the 
railway  company's  steamer,  catching  the  '  Albertville '  at 

her  Boma  moorings. 

But  the  'Albertville'  had  to  shift  her  moorings 
more  than  once  at  Boma,  for  a  revolt  had  broken  out, 
and  'two  hundred  soldiers  held  possession  of  the 
Chinka  Fort  for  some  forty-eight  hours,  and  bombarded 
the  town  and  shipping.'  The  '  Albertville,'  which  had 
some  narrow  escapes,  was  constrained  to  move  beyond 
range.  The  last  news  Grenfell  got  of  the  revolt  was 
that  the  rebels  had  vacated  the  fort,  and  were  making 


Revolt  at  Boma  455 

their  way  eastward  and  homeward.  There  was  also 
rumour  of  their  having  sacked  a  mission  station,  which 
ultimately  proved  to  be  unfounded. 

At  one  moment  this  revolt  seriously  jeopardized 
his  plans.  Just  before  the  hour  of  starting,  a  message 
was  received  that  in  consequence  of  the  revolt  the 
railway  company's  steamer  must  not  leave  Matadi. 
The  impasse  was  relieved  by  the  signal  courtesy  of  the 
Vice-Govemor-General,  who,  a  day  or  two  later,  sent  his 
yacht  to  bring  Grenfell  down  to  Boma,  his  friend, 
Lawson  Forfeitt,  accompanying  him  thus  far  on  the  way. 

Writing  to  the  Rev.  J.  Howell,  and  dating  s.s. 
'  Albertville,'  near  Sierra  Leone,  April  30,  1900,  Grenfell 
says  :  '  We  passed  the  "  Philippeville  "  yesterday,  with 
Governor  Wahis  on  board.  Our  captain  signalled  : 
"  All  goes  well  with  the  revolt,"  or  to  that  effect.  And 
the  Governor  asked,  "  What  revolt  ?  "  Before  our  flags 
"  Boma  "  could  be  hoisted,  I  fear  we  were  out  of  sight. 
So  the  poor  Governor  will  be  scratching  his  head  till  he 
gets  to  Banana,  as  to  the  meaning  of  it  all.  I  wonder 
he  did  not  stop  to  ask  for  more  details.' 

In  this  letter  Grenfell  gives  a  cheering  account 
of  himself  and  his  voyage.  Creature  comforts  are 
adequate.  The  doctor  and  stewardess  are  attentive — 
important  matters  for  Mrs.  Grenfell,  who  has  been 
suffering  with  influenza  ever  since  leaving  Boma. 
'  I'm  getting  on  capitally,'  he  says.  '  In  fact,  I  was  so 
well  by  the  time  I  got  down  river,  that  I  felt  I  should 
have  been  justified  in  turning  back,  if  I  had  not  been 
out  so  long.  I  am  already  wanting  to  be  back  again. 
My  heart  is  in  the  Congo,  and  with  you  all.  Happily 
for  my  wife,  we  shall  be  arriving  in  England  in  the  best 
possible  season,  and  I  am  hoping  she  will  be  quite  rid 
of  the  influenza  long  before  we  land.' 


456    Illness  and  Last  Furlough 

Then  he  turns  to  the  Mission  business  arising  from 
his  observations  on  the  journey  down  river,  and  finally 
in  a  long  passage  discusses  the  future  of  two  girls  in 
whom  Mrs.  Grenfell  is  interested,  and  for  whom  Mrs. 
Howell's  good  offices  are  solicited.  Apparently  it  is  an 
intricate  feminine  business,  complicated  in  one  case  by 
a  projected  marriage  which  may  not  come  off.  He 
apologizes  for  meddling  in  matters  which  he  imperfectly 
understands,  on  the  ground  that  his  wife  is  in  bed  and 
cannot  write,  but  has  no  doubt  that  Mrs.  Howell  will 
act  for  the  best  in  this  and  all  cases. 

The  concluding  sentence  is  characteristic.  '  I  pray 
that  neither  our  girls  nor  our  boys  may  become  a  source 
of  trouble  and  anxiety  to  you.  But,  seeing  that  the 
care  of  young  folks  and  anxiety  go  so  often  together, 
I  shall  not  be  surprised  to  find  that  my  colleagues  are 
bearing  burdens  on  my  behalf,  and  I  can  only  say  that 
you  may  rest  assured  of  my  affectionate  sympathy.' 

Dating  *s.s.  "  Albertville,"  English  Channel,  30° 
W.  long.,  Sunday  afternoon,  May  13,'  he  writes 
to  Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes :  *  As  we  are  nearing  our 
journey's  end,  I  am  writing  this  to  tell  you  of  our 
whereabouts.  We  hoped  to  be  in  Antwerp  to-morrow 
in  time  to  catch  the  steamer  leaving  in  the  evening 
for  Harwich ;  but  the  strong  head  wind  we  have  had 
since  passing  Ushant  has  spoiled  our  chance  of  getting 
away  before  Tuesday.  If  all  goes  well,  we  shall  be  in 
London  early  on  Wednesday  morning.  The  post-mark 
this  letter  bears  will  tell  you  how  far  we  are  on  our  way 
by  the  time  we  reach  a  letter-box. 

*  We  have  had  a  fine  voyage,  except  that  since 
leaving  Sierra  Leone  it  has  been  very  cold.  But  for 
the  revolt  at  Boma  we  should  have  been  a  week 
earlier.  .  .  .  Practically  I  am  thoroughly  recovered  from 


Letters  w^ritten  at  Home    457 

the  sickness  which  sent  me  home  earlier  than  I  ex- 
pected. In  fact,  I  was  so  much  better  by  the  time  I 
reached  Matadi  that  I  might  have  turned  back,  but  that 
I  had  been  out  so  long.  ...  My  plans  are  to  wait  in 
London  till  I  have  seen  Mr.  Baynes  and  the  doctor, 
and  paid  a  visit  to  Sevenoaks  to  see  the  children  :  then  to 
go  on  to  Penzance.  However,  I  do  not  expect  it  will 
be  long  before  I  find  my  way  to  Birmingham,  either 
going  to  or  coming  from  London.  You  may  depend 
upon  my  seizing  the  first  occasion  for  so  doing.' 

And  here  a  few  sentences  may  be  interposed 
concerning  a  series  of  letters  written  at  home,  which 
lie  before  me — recovered  fragments  of  a  voluminous 
correspondence.  Limits  of  space  permit  but  sparse 
quotation,  and  indeed  many  of  the  letters  are  so  packed 
with  technical  and  business  detail  that  they  would  be 
of  slight  interest  to  the  general  reader,  except  as 
disclosures  of  the  personality  of  the  man  who  writes. 
He  says  again  and  again  that  his  heart  is  on  the  Congo, 
and  the  statement  is  simple  fact.  He  is  greedy  for 
news  from  the  field.  He  carries  the  whole  machinery 
of  the  Mission  in  his  head,  and  the  whole  personnel  of 
the  staff  upon  his  heart.  Every  sorrow  hits  him  :  every 
joy  is  wine  to  his  soul.  In  spite  of  infirmities  which 
prove  that  he  had  exaggerated  unawares  the  extent 
of  his  physical  restoration,  he  is  always  about  his 
Master's  business.  His  commercial  faculty  and  special 
knowledge  are  continually  under  requisition,  and  no 
detail  is  too  small  for  his  particular  and  complete 
attention. 

The  whole  man  is  there,  whether  he  is  buying  twine 
for  a  net  to  catch  fish  for  certain  school  children  at 
Bolobo,  or  negotiating  for  a  new  boat.  He  must  see 
every   Congo   man    or  woman  whom   he   can   possibly 


458    Illness  and  Last  Furloug-h 

meet  in  England,  his  own  colleagues,  or  members  of 
other  Missions,  for  conference  and  sympathy.  His 
appreciation  of  his  brethren  and  sisters  is  joyful  and 
affectionate,  and  one  ransacks  the  letters  in  vain  for 
a  bitter  or  censorious  word.  If  any  man  proves 
awkward  or  errant,  Grenfell  is  sorrowful,  and  keen  to 
find  an  excuse. 

The  fault  of  these  letters  from  a  biographer's  point 
of  view,  is  that  they  say  so  little  about  himself. 
Episodes  of  profound  interest,  concerning  which  one 
craves  details,  are  dismissed  in  a  line.  He  has  but  the 
slightest  interest  in  his  own  experiences  and  emotions, 
except  as  they  bear  upon  his  work.  He  lives  for  Christ 
and  Congo,  as  truly  in  England  as  when  away  upon  the 
great  river.  By  this  time  St.  Paul  has  little  to  teach 
George  Grenfell  in  the  matter  of  self-effacement,  and 
the  modern  missionary  is  the  peer  of  the  Apostle  to 
the  Gentiles  in  his  care  for  the  infant  Churches,  in  his 
sympathy  with  those  who  suffer,  and  in  his  willingness 
to  *  spend  and  be  spent '  for  the  souls  that  are  dear  to 
him  in  Christ. 

On  July  13,  Grenfell  writes  from  Birmingham  to  the 
Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt :  '  Your  letter,  with  the  news  of 
Beedham's  death,  was  preceded  by  the  telegram  to  the 
same  effect.  Poor  Beedham  !  His  widow,  I  am  told, 
has  already  arrived  ;  as  also  has  Adams.  What  changes  ! 
...  I  hoped  to  have  written  you  at  some  length,  but 
mail  day  has  come  round,  and  found  me  with  a  racking 
headache,  and  but  little  disposition  for  writing.  Forgive 
me !  .  .  .  I  saw  Gordon  last  week.  He  is  far  from  well. 
I  have  sent  the  copy  of  your  letter  to  Stapleton,  who 
is  undergoing  a  course  of  baths.  I  shall  soon  want 
something  of  the  sort,  if  my  bones  don't  mend  their 
ways.     They  are  becoming  increasingly  stiff  and  painful, 


Wanted,  a  Printer !  459 

especially  those  of  my  right  hand.     Dr.  Sims  has  just 
gone  to  Vienna.' 

The  following  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes,  dated  Birmingham, 
July  19,  is  too  suggestive  to  be  omitted  or  cur- 
tailed : — 

'  I  have  been  thinking  very  seriously  of  the  need 
that  exists  for  sending  help  to  Bolobo.  Do  you  think 
that  an  appeal  to  the  Principals  of  our  various  denomi- 
national Colleges  would  be  of  any  use  ?  It  seems  to 
me,  if  you  were  to  write  something  on  the  lines  of  the 
following,  it  might  result  in  our  finding  some  one  with 
the  needed  experience  for  keeping  the  printing-office  at 
work  during  Mr.  Scrivener's  coming  furlough. 

'  "  To  the  Principal  .  .  .  College. 

* "  In  view  of  the  recently  developed  needs  of  our 
Congo  Mission,  I  venture  to  ask  whether  among  the 
young  men  under  your  care  you  have  some  one  who,  upon 
due  representation  of  the  case,  would  probably  volunteer. 
One  of  the  most  pressing  of  our  needs  is  that  of  help  for 
our  brother  Scrivener  at  Bolobo,  who,  in  addition  to  his 
work  as  pastor  of  the  Church  at  that  place,  is  in  charge 
of  the  printing  press.  His  furlough  is  already  overdue  ; 
but,  seeing  the  importance  of  maintaining  the  full 
working-power  of  the  press,  he  is  very  desirous  of 
securing  a  colleague  with  the  needful  technical  ex- 
perience before  he  leaves.  The  importance  of  this 
branch  of  our  work  will  be  the  better  realized,  when 
it  is  understood  that  the  Bolobo  press  serves  not  only 
all  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  Stations  on  the  upper 
river,  but  all  the  other  Evangelical  Societies  as  well  ; 
and  just  now  it  is  especially  important  that  it  should  be 
maintained,  seeing  we  are  engaged  upon  the  printing  of 
the  New  Testament  in  Bobangi. 

*  "  The  installation  is  only  a  modest  one,  consisting 


46o    Illness  and  Last  Furloug^h 

of  three  Albion  presses,  and  a  stereotyping  apparatus ; 
but  it  needs  the  supervision  of  a  missionary  more  or 
less  acquainted  with  the  technique  of  a  printing-office. 
The  staff  consists  of  about  a  dozen  trained  natives, 
and  is  quite  equal  to  "setting  up,"  "pulling  off," 
correcting  proofs,  and  all  the  general  routine,  but 
is  not  yet  capable  of  running  the  office  without  the 
control  of  some  one  with  experience. 

'  "  Have  you,  among  your  students  who  are  thinking 
of  Mission  work,  one  who  has  had  the  needful  experience, 
and  who  would  be  prepared  to  volunteer  for  Bolobo? 
The  Bolobo  press  is  the  only  one  in  the  Congo  State  to 
the  east  of  Leopoldville,  and  gives  promise  of  developing 
into  one  of  the  most  important  agencies  for  the  spread 
of  the  Gospel,  and  the  uplifting  of  the  people  of  that 
great  land." 

'  You,  my  dear  Mr.  Baynes,  could  easily  formulate  a 
more  telling  appeal  than  the  foregoing  ;  but  a  man  who 
volunteers  upon  a  prosaic  representation  of  the  case  is 
less  likely  to  make  a  mistake  than  one  who  yields  to  a 
more  impassioned  plea.  In  any  case,  I  beg  of  you  to 
take  such  measures  as  may  seem  best  to  you  to  secure 
a  man  for  Bolobo,  so  that  our  brother  Scrivener  may 
not  be  unduly  delayed  in  setting  out  on  his  furlough, 
and,  if  at  all  possible,  one  who  can  take  up  the  printing- 
office  work  which  he  now  superintends.' 

On  July  30  he  informs  Mr.  Howell  that  he  has 
written  to  the  pastors  of  Churches  in  steamship  ports, 
with  a  view  to  securing  a  volunteer,  who  would  relieve 
Mr.  Howell  of  mechanical  and  navigating  duty,  and  so 
free  him  in  a  measure  for  more  directly  religious  work. 
A  month  later  he  writes  again,  rejoicing  that  his  friend 
has  already  found  opportunity  for  taking  greater  part 
in     religious     services,   and    reporting    that    he    is    in 


Bew^are  of  Nevrspaper  Men  461 

communication  with  two  men  of  promise,  though  the 
prospect  of  a  definite  settlement  is  problematical. 

In  this  letter  occurs  a  significant  passage  anent  news- 
paper men,  which  will  touch  a  sympathetic  chord  in  the 
heart  of  many  a  victim  of  '  Press  '  enterprise. 

*  I  note  what  you  say  re  Mobeka,  and  appreciate  the 
wisdom  of  your  abstaining  from  taking  any  part  therein 
till  you  have  very  sure  ground  under  your  feet.  A 
certain  newspaper  correspondent  at  Matadi  wanted  me 
to  speak ;  but  I  told  him  that  though  I  had  heard 
rumours,  I  was  not  prepared  to  take  any  part  in  the 
matter ;  and  he  reproduced  my  conversation  with  him, 
to  my  detriment,  in  the  Petit  Bleu.  Beware  of  news- 
paper men.  Nothing  less  than  an  absolute  "No'' 
unadorned  in  any  way,  will  meet  our  needs  in  dealing 
with  them.  Even  the  promise  to  submit  proofs  before 
printing  is  not  to  be  relied  upon,  as  witness  my  own 

case  in  the  E of  a  fortnight  ago.    They  are  evidently 

moving  in  Brussels  with  regard  to  Mobeka  (or  Mongala) 
matters,  and  the  papers  report  further  troubles  there, 
but  nothing  definite.' 

The  postscript  of  this  letter  glances  at  concerns  which 
were  heavily  burdensome  to  the  heart  of  every  British 
citizen,  but  reverts  inevitably  to  the  writer's  supreme 
interest. 

'  China  matters,  though  not  so  bad  as  were  feared, 
are  still  most  grave  for  our  Shansi  men.  I  wonder  if 
Britain  will  get  through  without  falling  into  grave  com- 
plications with  her  neighbours  !  The  Boer  war  is  entering 
upon  its  last  phase,  I  hope.  If  the  present  movement, 
which  has  just  commenced,  only  succeeds,  the  end  may 
come  very  quickly.  The  papers  have  no  space  for  other 
topics,  so  we  hear  nothing  of  the  Congo.' 

On   October   29  he    writes    to    the    Rev.   Lawson 


462    Illness  and  Last  Furlough 

Forfeitt,  and  the  next  day  to  the  Rev.  J.  Howell.  The 
letters  are  long,  and  full  of  missionary  detail,  but  poor 
in  particulars  about  the  writer.  Collating  them,  we 
gather  that  he  has  been  miserably  unwell,  with  little 
energy  for  anything ;  is  perpetually  wishing  himself 
back  upon  the  Congo ;  has  just  come  to  Bournemouth ; 
is  hoping  to  pull  himself  together  after  a  while  ;  and, 
by  way  of  beginning  better  things,  has  started  upon 
neglected  correspondence  before  breakfast.  He  is  just 
as  keen  and  particular  in  his  interest  in  Mr.  Forfeitt's 
work  at  Matadi  as  in  Mr.  Howell's  at  Bolobo,  and  has 
been  looking  after  its  business  interests  with  equal  care. 

Grenfell  was  promised  by  Mr.  Baynes,  upon  his 
return  to  England,  that  he  should  be  relieved  of  any 
pressure  of  deputation  work,  and  he  remarks  in  his  letter 
to  Mr.  Forfeitt  that  he  has  moved  about  but  little,  has 
only  spoken  three  times — once  at  a  Sale  of  Work  at 
Reading,  where  he  'saw  many  Colliers.'  His  final  word 
in  a  postscript  is :  '  I  should  like  to  get  away  early  next 
year,  but  can  hardly  do  so,  I  expect,  till  you  have  put 
in  an  appearance.  I  am  quite  looking  forward  to  seeing 
you  here.' 

Writing  from  the  Mission  House  on  November  13, 
he  addresses  a  letter  jointly  to  the  Revs.  J.  Howell  and 
A.  Stonelake,  Bolobo,  formally  introducing  Mr.  Williams, 
the  new  missionary  engineer,  who  is  about  to  sail.  Only 
a  portion  of  this  letter  has  been  preserved,  but  the  last 
sentence,  though  incomplete,  reveals  something  of  the 
missionary  heart  of  the  writer,  who  consented  throughout 
his  life,  in  submission  to  the  ordinance  of  God,  to  be 
immersed  in  business,  clerical,  mechanical,  administra- 
tive, but  who  was  always  yearning  for  the  more  direct 
service  of  souls. 

'  I  am  sanguine,  brethren,  that  the  additional  strength 


In  Brussels  463 

thus  introduced  into  our  steamer  department  may  result 
in  our  being  able  to  make  more  use  of  our  steamers  as 
direct  missionary  agencies  than  we  have  done  in  the 
past,  for  I  know  that  the  mere  carrying  of  goods  and 
passengers,  important  though  it  be  for  the  work  as  a 
whole,  no  more  satisfies  your  aims  [than  mine.]' 
The  following  document  tells  its  own  tale  : — 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Hotel  Belle  Vue,  Bruxelles,  November  16. 

*  I  said  "  Good-bye  "  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  and 
Brother  Kempton  on  board  the  "  Anversville "  this 
morning,  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  she  sailed. 
They  were  well,  and  in  capital  spirits.  I  should  have 
been  delighted  to  have  made  one  of  the  party.  Beautiful 
weather  to-day  for  their  starting,  and  quite  a  contrast  to 
yesterday. 

'  I  have  seen  the  secretaries,  de  Cuvelier  and  Lie- 
brechts,  and  had  very  satisfactory  interviews  with  them. 
So  far  as  I  can  see  there  will  be  no  reason  urged  against 
my  going  forward,  when  the  time  comes  for  me  to  move. 
They  both  of  them  counselled  me  to  talk  freely  to  the 
King  on  the  subject.  I  am  to  have  an  interview  with 
his  Majesty  at  ten  to-morrow,  and  I  have  also  received 
and  accepted  an  invitation  (or  "  command  ")  to  lunch 
with  him. 

'  After  my  interview  to-morrow  I  am  to  see  Liebrechts 
again,  and  on  Monday,  before  I  leave,  the  Chevalier  de 
Cuvelier  wishes  to  have  a  further  talk  on  Congo  matters 
with  myself  It  will  be  as  much  as  I  can  do,  to  be  back 
in  time  for  Camden  Road,  and  to  get  the  needful  rest 
between.  However,  you  may  rely  upon  my  not  failing 
our  friends,  except  in  case  of  absolute  force  majeure. 
I  am  much  better  than  when  I  left  the  Mission  House, 


464    Illness  and  Last  Furloug-h 

and  am  going  to  bed  early,  in  the  hope  of  having  a  good 
rest  to-night.' 

I  remarked  above  that  this  letter  tells  its  own  tale. 
But  the  telling  is  so  brief,  and  the  subject-matter  so 
interesting  that  I  confessed  to  looking  ahead  with  some- 
thing of  the  journalist's  appetite  for  good  copy.  My  dis- 
coveries were  as  suggestive  as  they  were  disappointing. 

I  found  two  long  letters  to  his  intimate  friends,  Mr. 
John  Howell  and  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt.  Some  three 
weeks  had  elapsed  since  the  Brussels  visit,  but  as  he 
had  not  written  to  either  in  the  interval,  I  was  hopeful 
of  piquant  detail.  Mr.  Howell's  letter,  which  would 
make  three  or  four  pages  of  this  book,  opens  with 
references  to  the  'jamming  of  a  piston  ring,'  which  had 
hindered  him  in  one  of  his  voyages,  and  the  '  running 
with  two  propellers  on  each  shaft,'  which  '  Thorneycrofts 
advise ' — and  proceeds  :  *  Since  I  wrote  you  last  I've  been 
to  Antwerp  and  Brussels,  and  also  to  Birmingham  and 
Glasgow.  The  former  pair  of  visits,  apart  from  seeing 
the  "  Anversville  "  party  start,  resulted  in  a  few  formal 
calls,  which  may  possibly  serve  us  somewhat,  or  may 
result  in  very  little.' 

That  is  all  concerning  Antwerp  and  Brussels.  But 
the  milling  machine,  which  he  did  not  get  in  Birming- 
ham, and  the  new  boat,  which  he  saw  in  Glasgow,  and 
the  Rice  boilers,  of  which  he  saw  drawings,  occupy  a 
page.  In  Mr.  Forfeitt's  letter  the  subject  is  dismissed 
even  more  curtly.  '  I  saw  Dhanis  when  I  was  in  Brussels. 
He  looked  well :  is  about  to  be  married.' 

As  the  year  drew  to  its  close  Grenfell's  health  was 
still  far  from  satisfactory,  and  he  complains  of  'the 
miserable  pace '  at  which  he  is  pulling  himself  together, 
and  of  the  fact  that  when  mail  day  arrives  he  sometimes 


A  Soppowful  New  Year     465 

finds  no  courage  or  energy  for  writing  anything  helpful, 
and  so  lets  it  slip  by.  And  at  the  turn  of  the  year  the 
sorrows  of  others  were  pressing  heavily  upon  him.  The 
Grenfells  and  the  Stapletons  were  living  in  the  same 
house  at  Boscombe,  and  on  December  27  Mrs.  Stapleton 
gave  birth  to  a  child,  who  lived  but  one  day.  The 
mother's  illness  was  severe,  and  the  occurrence  of  high 
fever  induced  a  condition  so  critical  that  a  medical 
consultation  was  necessitated.  Mr.  Stapleton  was  also 
ill  at  the  time.  Intense  anxiety  on  the  part  of  the 
patients,  each  for  the  other,  militated  against  their 
progress,  and  Grenfell  tells  all  the  story  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Baynes,  dated  January  i,  1901,  in  a  fashion  which 
proves  how  acutely  the  stress  was  felt  by  his  loving 
heart. 

In  the  same  letter  he  tells  of  other  calls  upon  his 
sympathy.  Mr.  Banks,  of  the  American  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Union,  who  had  been  twenty  years  upon  the 
Congo,  and  was  one  of  Grenfell's  oldest  friends,  had 
succumbed  to  rheumatic  fever  a  day  or  two  previously. 
Grenfell  had  sat  up  with  him  all  the  night  of  December  28, 
and  a  few  hours  after  his  leaving,  his  friend  had  passed 
away.  He  was  busy  with  the  affairs  of  the  widow  and 
five  children.     The  letter  concludes  : — 

*  Congo  men  are  evidently  not  altogether  "  out  of  the 
wood  "  when  they  get  away  to  the  old  country.  Up  till 
March  last  Mr.  Banks'  life,  humanly  speaking,  was  one 
of  the  best  in  the  whole  Mission  band. 

*  This  is  not  a  very  cheery  epistle  for  a  New  Year's 
letter,  dear  Mr.  Baynes,  but  it  does  not  prevent  my 
hoping  that  the  New  Century  is  dawning  for  you  laden 
with  many  blessings,  and  that  they  may  be  continued 
for  you  far  down  its  course.' 

A  few  days   later  he  writes  again  to  Mr.  Baynes, 

2  u 


466    Illness  and  Last  Furloug-h 

proffering  sympathy  in  trouble  and  bereavement  which 
had  befallen  his  beloved  chief— for  so  he  ever  regarded 
one  whose  personality  was  as  inspiring  as  his  abilities 
were  distinguished  and  his  devotion  complete.  He 
writes,  too,  as  one  who  knows  that  his  news  will  be 
medicine  to  a  grief-stricken  heart. 

Mrs.  Stapleton's  condition  is  improving,  and  Mr. 
Stapleton  has  been  greatly  benefited  by  a  visit  from 
Dr.  Sims,  whose  treatment  has  been  helped  by  the 
patient's  relief  on  his  wife's  account.  Mrs.  Grenfell's 
health  has  also  improved,  and  respecting  himself  he 
says  :  '  My  own  condition  has  mended  more  while  I 
have  been  in  Bournemouth  than  during  the  whole  of  my 
previous  stay  in  England,  and  I  am  thinking  seriously 
of  getting  my  affairs  in  order  for  returning  to  Congo. 
Of  course  I  shall  not  hurry  out,  so  long  as  there  may  be 
Mission  business  for  me  to  attend  to  here,  but  my  heart 
is  much  drawn  Congo-wards,  and  besides,  Howell's  five 
years  are  up  in  May,  and  J.  A.  Clark's  in  July.' 

Other  letters  to  Mr.  Baynes  follow,  showing  how 
closely  he  is  watching  affairs  upon  the  Congo,  and 
proffering  counsel  in  the  emergencies  which  frequently 
occur.  On  February  7,  he  expresses  eager  gladness  in 
the  prospect  of  a  talk  with  Mr.  Baynes  '  respecting  future 
pioneering,'  and  begs  that  it  may  be  arranged  at  the 
earliest  possible  date. 

On  March  6,  he  writes  in  a  strain  of  boyish  glee  to 
his  friend  Lawson  Forfeitt,  who  has  stolen  a  march  upon 
him  :  '  Can  it  be  that  you  are  already  once  more  in  the 
old  country,  and  that  it  is  your  superscription  that  I've 
seen  on  your  sister's  envelope  ?  I've  really  had  to 
study  it,  to  make  sure,  and  there  is  no  other  explanation 
than  that  you  have  arrived.  Well,  here's  the  heartiest 
of  welcomes  to  you  and  your  wife  !  and  may  you  have 


A  Stroll  in  the  Park        467 

a  blessedly  good  and  restful  time.'  He  is  impatient  for 
a  meeting,  which  must  be  arranged  forthwith,  and  con- 
tinues, '  I  was  in  London  a  week  ago,  and  saw  Dr. 
Roberts.  His  report  was  a  most  reassuring  one,  and 
I've  no  doubt  about  being  ready  for  returning  to  the 
Congo  in  August  or  September.' 

After  Dr.  Roberts'  reassuring  report,  it  was  dis- 
appointment to  Grenfell  and  his  friends,  that  later  there 
came  another  break-down,  which  precluded  his  presence 
at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Society.  In  a  letter  to 
Congo,  dated  May  12,  Mr.  Baynes  writes:  'You  will, 
I  am  sure,  be  sorry  to  hear  that  the  health  of  our 
brother  Grenfell  is  very  unsatisfactory.  It  quite  broke 
down  at  the  time  of  the  annual  gatherings,  and  he  was 
unable  to  appear  at  any  of  our  meetings — indeed,  he 
was  in  bed  the  whole  of  the  anniversary  week,  and  even 
now  he  is  very  far  from  well,  and  I  am  very  anxious 
about  him.' 

By  the  end  of  June  he  is  again  at  least  in  good 
spirits,  and  writes  from  Sutton  Coldfield,  Birmingham, 
to  the  Rev.  J.  Howell,  who  has  arrived  in  England : 
'  My  brother  and  his  wife  will  be  very  glad  if  Mrs. 
Howell,  yourself  and  Mr.  Scrivener  will  come  over  on 
Tuesday  morning  and  dine  here,  and  take  tea  with  us. 
This  will  give  us  a  chance  of  having  a  nice  stroll  or  two 
in  the  Park,  and  time  for  a  "  confab  "  on  Congo  matters.' 

Mr.  Howell  being  accessible,  I  wrote  to  him,  asking 
whether  this  invitation  was  accepted,  and  if  so,  requesting 
that  he  would  favour  me  with  a  brief  note  of  reminiscence. 
The  reader  will  be  indebted  to  Mr.  Howell  for  his  kindly 
and  illuminating  reply. 

*  Yes,  I  well  remember  the  visit  to  Sutton,  and  the 
long  walk  we  had  together  in  the  Park.  This,  and  many 
such  walks  and  **  confabs,"  were  delightful  to  me.    What 


468    Illness  and  Last  Furloug^h 

Grenfell  had  to  say  was  worth  hearing.  No  word  or 
suggestion  of  scandal,  but  interesting  and  instructive 
talk  round  one  subject — Africa,  especially  Congo.  Gren- 
fell enjoyed  a  joke  as  well  as  any  one,  but  life  and  work 
were  too  serious  for  him  to  do  much  in  that  line  himself. 
We  wished  he  had  done  more. 

*  The  conversation  in  the  Park  was  largely  about  the 
forward  work  to  which  he  returned.  Up  to  that  time  we 
had  worked  together  at  Bolobo.  This  new  departure 
meant  separation,  as  I  was  to  take  on  steamer  work, 
setting  him  entirely  free  for  the  work  at  the  front.  The 
map  of  the  unopened  country  was  stamped  on  that  single 
eye  of  his.  His  dream  was  one  of  a  quick  march  into 
the  dismal  night  of  heathenism  with  the  light.  His 
magnificent  plans  flashed  six  hundred  miles  this  way, 
eight  hundred  miles  another,  with  little  trips  up  the 
Lomami  two  hundred  miles,  Itimbiri  one  hundred,  etc., 
spoken  of  as  small  asides,  hardly  worth  mentioning. 
My  imagination  was  so  fired  that  I  was  at  once  dis- 
satisfied with  my  work,  and  wanted  to  offer  for  front- 
rank  work.  But  "  No,"  said  he,  "  you  must  stick  where 
you  are,  and  do  your  work." 

*  Had  Grenfell  been  permitted  to  get  sites,  and  men 
to  occupy  them,  there  would  be  to-day  a  grand  last 
chapter  to  a  noble  life.  The  last  chapter  was  grand,  but 
cannot  be  written  in  this  book.  It  is  recorded  in  "  the 
Lamb's  Book  of  Life."  ' 

Of  the  last  three  months  of  Grenfell's  last  stay  in 
England  there  is  little  to  be  recorded.  Only  two  or 
three  brief  notes  are  available  as  data.  On  August  9, 
he  writes  to  the  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt  from  'Bolobo.' 
At  first  sight  this  address  is  rather  staggering  to  the 
biographer,  but  a  second  glance  dispels  all  mystery.  It 
is   not   Bolobo   of  the   Upper   Congo,   but    Bolobo  of 


The  Final  Pack  Up  469 

Hatfield  Road,  Birchfields,  Birmingham.  The  brief 
letter  is  mainly  a  grateful  acknowledgment  of  Mr. 
Forfeitt's  kind  purpose  to  see  him  off  at  Liverpool, 
concerning  which  he  says  :  '  We  shall  have  but  few 
opportunities  for  "  confab  "  ;  still,  it  will  do  me  good  to 
see  your  face.'  Circumstances  precluded  his  enjoyment 
of  this  pleasure. 

On  September  2  he  is  staying  with  his  mother, 
at  Ennis  Cottage,  Sancreed,  the  house  in  which  he 
was  born,  and  writes  to  the  Rev.  J.  Howell :  *  I'm 
returning  to  Birmingham  for  a  day  or  so  at  the  close  of 
the  week,  and  then  go  to  London  for  the  final  "  pack  up," 
where  my  wife  will  join  me.  We  expect  to  stay  in 
Birmingham  on  our  way  to  Liverpool,  say  for  a  night  or 
two.' 

The  last  note,  dated  'Birkenhead,  September  24,'  is 
also  addressed  to  Mr.  Howell :  '  We  arrived  in  due 
course,  and  our  various  belongings  are  now  on  the 
landing  stage,  in  readiness  for  the  morning.  In  the 
excitement  of  this  afternoon  I  failed  to  say,  as  I  ought 
to  have  done,  "  Thank  you,"  for  the  material  help  you 
rendered  us  in  the  hurry  of  getting  away.  As  letters 
leaving  England  on  October  8  will  reach  Congo  before 
we  do,  we  are  quite  hoping  to  find  letters  awaiting  our 
arrival' 


CHAPTER   XX 
LETTERS  TO   HIS  CHILDREN 

A  Monkey  story-Hostile  Natives-Lessons— '  Brain  Drill' needed 
-Loleka's  Story-The  '  Eye  of  a  Needle  '-A  Birthday  kept  for 
an  Absent  Child— A  Piece  of  String  asked  for— A  Goat  Drowned 
—The  •  Blues  '—Hints  on  Reading— Accident  to  the  '  Peace  '— 
A  Swarm  of  Bees— Difficult  Navigation— Turned  back— 
Bible-reading— Brussels— Importance  of  learning  French. 

THIS  chapter  makes  a  break  in  Grenfell's  life-story. 
Several  of  the  letters  date  years  back,  and  others 
rush  ahead.  But  the  purpose  of  this  book  is  not  a 
story-telling  purpose  purely.  It  aims  to  reveal  character, 
and  given  a  certain  temperament,  few  things  are  more 
apocalyptic  than  a  man's  letters  to  his  children.  Grenfell 
wrote  long,  patient,  loving  epistles  to  his  dear  ones,  in 
which  the  deep,  simple  things  of  his  soul  find  utterance, 
unchecked  by  the  faintest  fear  of  printer  or  of  critic. 

I  am  greatly  indebted  to  Miss  Grenfell  for  over- 
coming her  reluctance  to  permit  the  publication  of 
matters  so  intimate  and  precious.  May  she  find  her 
recompense  in  the  knowledge  that  her  father  s  counsels 
to  his  own  children  have  been  helpful  to  other  parents 
and  other  children!  Not  that  his  letters  were  all 
counsel.  He  was  far  too  human  and  too  sympathetic  to 
feed  his  bairns  upon  pure  homily.  Sometimes  the  story 
comes  without  the  moral,  and  he  smiles  to  think  how 
freely  the  omission  will  be  forgiven.  But  in  story  or 
sermon,  the  letters  are  the  outpouring  of  a  wise,  loving 


The  Baby-Monkey  471 

heart,  and  happy  surely  were  the  children  whose  long 
exile  from  home  was  softened  by  such  missives  from 
beyond  the  sea. 

To  Carrie. 

Luchiko  River,  Central  South  Africa,  March  7,  1893. 

*  While  we  were  camped  on  the  banks  of  the  Kwango 
a  hunter  brought  a  monkey  he  had  shot,  and  sold  it.  He 
also  brought  with  it  the  young  one  that  would  not  leave 
its  dead  mother.  It  was  quite  a  mite,  and  had  not  been 
weaned,  so  Mrs.  Sarmento — the  wife  of  the  Portuguese 
officer  who  is  travelling  with  us  [Lunda  Expedition] — 
made  a  little  feeding-bottle  and  tried  to  bring  it  up  by 
"  hand."  At  first  the  little  monkey  could  do  nothing 
with  it ;  but  a  taste  of  the  milk  and  the  necessity  of  a 
hungry  stomach  solved  the  difficulty,  and  the  queer  little 
oddity  learned  to  look  for  its  bottle  in  the  most  comical 
way,  and  to  stretch  out  its  hands  to  hold  it  in  the 
proper  position. 

'  However,  the  feeding-bottle  did  not  save  the 
monkey's  life  for  more  than  a  fortnight  or  so,  for  after 
that  time  it  got  weaker  and  died.  It  used  to  splutter 
over  the  feeding-bottle  at  first,  and  instead  of  arranging 
a  "  bib  "  Mrs.  Sarmento  used  to  tie  him  up  wholesale  in 
a  handkerchief.  It  made  quite  a  funny  picture  three 
times  a  day,  as  it  was  brought  in  after  our  meals  to  have 
its  feed.  Perhaps  if  they  had  kept  to  the  bottle,  and 
not  tried  experiments  on  its  teeth  with  hard  biscuits  and 
all  sorts  of  odds  and  ends  from  the  table,  it  might  have 
survived.  My  monkey  story  has  no  moral,  I  am  afraid. 
Perhaps  you  will  like  it  all  the  better  for  that  reason.' 

To  Carrie. 

Bolobo,  July  10,  1894. 

'Your  mother   and  I  have  been  away  for  a  couple 

of  months  on  a  journey  up   river.     We  ascended    the 


472      Letters  to  his  Children 

Aruwimi  as  far  as  the  falls,  just  beyond  the  place  where 
Mr.  Stanley  made  his  famous  Yambuya  camp,  when  he 
went  in  search  of  Emin  Pasha.  We  also  ascended  the 
Loika  river  as  far  as  Ibembo.  On  the  previous  occasion 
when  we  ascended  the  Loika  our  little  Carrie  was  with 
us,  so  you  know  it  must  have  been  quite  a  long  time  ago. 

'  There  have  been  great  changes  since  that  time,  the 
Government  having  taken  full  possession  of  the  country. 
When  you  were  with  us,  as  I  think  I  have  told  you  in  a 
letter  not  so  long  ago,  we  were  attacked  by  the  natives, 
and  one  of  the  boys  standing  at  my  side  was  wounded 
by  a  poisoned  arrow.  We  also  made  the  circuit  of  Lake 
Mantumba,  and  though  the  lake  is  not  so  far  away  as 
the  Loika,  the  people  have  not  yet  been  reconciled  to 
the  white  men,  and  they  turned  out  with  bows  and 
arrows,  just  as  they  used  to  do  when  you  were  with  us. 
During  the  whole  of  our  two  months'  voyage  it  was  only 
on  the  lake  that  the  people  were  hostile.  At  one  place, 
after  preventing  us  from  going  on  shore  for  an  hour  and 
a  half,  they  became  sufficiently  assured  of  our  good 
intentions  to  allow  us  to  land.  Once  on  shore,  we  were 
soon  able  to  overcome  their  remaining  scruples,  and 
when  we  came  away  we  brought  with  us  a  collec- 
tion of  bows  and  arrows  and  gay  feather  war-caps, 
which  they  sold  to  us  for  beads  and  small  cowrie  shells. 
This  was  at  quite  a  big  town,  as  African  towns  go,  but 
then  you  know  they  do  not  compare  in  size,  or  in  fact,  in 
any  way,  with  English  towns.  It  contained  a  thousand 
houses,  more  or  less  ;  the  men  who  turned  out  against 
us  with  their  bows  and  arrows  were  about  four  or  five 
hundred.  .  .  . 

*  I  was  much  interested  to  get  your  fraction  sum  ;  I 
am  glad  you  have  got  so  far.  You  are  such  a  scatter- 
brained little  "  curmudgeon  "  that  I  was  afraid  it  would 


Lessons  and  Holidays       473 

be  some  time  yet  ere  you  settled  down  to  so  serious  a 
task.  I  notice  in  the  report  that  you  are  credited  with 
having  "  worked  well "  in  geometry.  I  wish  I  could 
gather  the  same  about  your  French  and  music  ;  you 
must  try  to  get  better  marks  in  these  subjects,  for  they 
are  among  the  most  important  ones  for  you,  considering 
your  future.  Dear  little  scatterbrain !  the  future  does 
not  trouble  you  very  much  yet,  does  it  ? 

*  Poor  Pattie's  birthday  is  past,  and  we  have  sent  her 
no  present.  Yours  will  soon  be  round  again,  and  we 
will  send  something  for  each  of  you,  though  it  will  not 
be  very  much.  Your  father  is  only  a  poor  missionary, 
and  he  has  to  be  very  careful  what  he  does  with  his 
money,  especially  considering  he  has  two  such  big  girls 
at  school. 

'By  the  time  this  reaches  England  you  will  be 
thinking  of  returning  to  school  after  your  holidays  at 
grandma's.  We  hope  you  will  have  had  a  very  happy 
time  together.  It  will  be  a  great  joy  to  auntie  and 
grandma  if  they  have  found  that  you  have  made  such 
progress  with  your  music  as  to  be  able  to  give  them 
some  nice  pieces.  I  hope  you  have  not  neglected  your 
practising. 

'  The  "  Goodwill  "  is  still  on  the  slip,  waiting  for  the 
new  shaft  from  England  ;  but,  happily,  the  good  old 
"  Peace  "  still  continues  to  keep  in  running  order.  We 
are  afraid,  however,  that  she  may  suddenly  stop  short, 
like  the  famous  old  clock  ;  but  even  if  she  does,  we  are 
hoping  we  shall  be  able  to  make  her  go  again,  after 
a  bit. 

*  You  ask  in  your  letter  of  October  lo,  whether  or 
not  I  got  your  enclosed  photo  and  your  friends'  in  the 
pocket-book.  Yes,  it  reached  us  all  right,  and  we  are 
glad  to  get  it  and  look  at  the  faces  of  some  of  those  who 


474      Letters  to  his  Children 

have  been  so  good  to  you.  The  pocket-book  is  kept  on 
my  writing-table,  so  far  at  least,  and  receives  special  notes 
I  want  to  make  and  keep.  Perhaps  it  may  descend  to 
the  depths  and  darkness  of  a  coat  pocket  some  day, 
when  its  glory  has  been  dimmed  by  dust  and  time  :  it 
is  altogether  too  bright  for  such  a  dismal  fate  as  yet ! 

*  Well,  my  dear  Carrie,  here  is  a  letter  all  to  yourself, 
as  you  asked,  but  I  am  afraid  I  have  forgotten  to  reply 
to  quite  a  lot  of  the  questions  you  asked.  You  must 
forgive  me,  for  I  have  so  many  other  letters  to  write 
that  I  must  finish  this.  Thank  you  very  much  for  nice 
long  letters,  they  are  very  interesting  to  both  your 
mother  and  myself,  even  though  they  are  not  so  nicely 
written  as  we  know  you  can  write  them  when  you 
really  try. 

'  With  much  love  from  your  mother  and  myself.' 

To  Carrie. 

Bolobo,  August  22,  1894. 

'  I  am  sorry  to  hear  of  your  having  had  whooping- 
cough  ;  happily  for  you,  you  have  not  had  to  fight  it  in 
the  winter  time.  I  sincerely  hope  your  holidays  will  not 
have  been  interfered  with  by  it,  and  that  you  have  had 
a  real  good  time  at  grandma's. 

'  And  now,  my  own  dear  little  Carrie,  let  me  beg  of 
you  to  make  a  really  good  try  to  get  on  with  your 
lessons  this  next  term.  You  don't  understand  how 
important  it  is  that  you  should  begin  to  study  in  real 
earnest,  and  keep  steadily  at  it.  It  costs  your  father 
and  mother  a  great  many  pounds  (many  more  than  you 
think),  to  keep  you  at  school,  and  you  will  be  very,  very 
sorry  when  you  grow  up,  if  you  have  allowed  the  whole 
of  your  school-time  to  pass  as  you  have  allowed  the 
early  part  of  it  to  slip  by.  What  you  especially  need  is 
the  determination  to  do  one  thing  at  a  time,  and  to  do 


Brain  Drill  475 

that  one  thing  with  all  your  might.  You  have  got  an 
active  little  brain  that  could  do  great  things,  if  you 
would  only  get  it  into  training— it  comes  out  in  your 
letters.  They  are  always  interesting,  but  the  way  you 
skip  about  from  one  subject  to  another  tells  me  you 
want  some  "  brain  drill." 

•Do,  my  dear  Carrie,  for  father's  sake,  and  for 
mother's  sake,  make  a  real  hard  try  at  some  of  the 
subjects  you  are  learning.  We  don't  expect  you  to  get 
high  marks  all  round,  but  surely  you  could  do  well  in 
those  subjects  you  like  best,  if  you  only  put  your  mind 
to  it.  It  would  be  such  happiness  for  us  if  you  could 
make  us  feel  you  are  in  earnest  about  preparing  for  the 
life  that  is  before  you.  Try  to  think  for  yourself  what 
that  life  is  likely  to  be,  if  you  waste  the  time  that  is 
given  you  to  get  ready  for  it. 

'  Father  and  mother  both  pray  very  earnestly  not 
only  that  you  may  make  good  progress,  but  that  you 
may  grow  up  to  be  a  dear  good  girl.  May  God  bless 
you,  and  help  you  to  prepare  very  earnestly  for  this  life, 
as  well  as  for  the  life  to  come.' 

To  Carrie. 
s.s.  *  Goodwill,'  near  Mswata,  Upper  Congo,  August  14,  1896. 

'  We  are  very  glad  to  know  you  are  really  trying  to 
be  a  good  girl.  It  is  not  easy,  dear  Carrie,  is  it  >  Some 
of  the  young  folk  on  the  Station  at  Bolobo  are  trying 
to  follow  Jesus,  and  they  find  it  very  hard.  Loleka  (I 
send  you  his  picture)  has  just  written  me  a  nice  little 
letter,  saying  that  after  a  real  hard  try  Satan  had  got 
the  better  of  him  once  more,  but  still  he  wanted  to  be  a 
disciple.  I  saw  him  for  a  little  while  just  before  I  left, 
and  I  hope  encouraged  him  to  go  on  his  way,  looking  to 
Jesus  to  help  him,  and  to  give  his  heart  entirely  to  Him  ; 


476      Letters  to  his  Children 

for  if  he  kept  even  one  corner  of  his  heart  for  himself  he 
would  be  sure  to  fall  again. 

'Jesus  wants  every  bit  of  us,  and  will  be  content 
with  nothing  less,  and  if  we  only  just  put  ourselves 
unreservedly  into  His  hands  the  enemy  won't  have  the 
chance  to  overcome  us.  The  Good  Shepherd  is  able  to 
keep  all  His  sheep  !  Loleka  is  almost  a  young  man 
now.  He  was  quite  a  little  boy  when  he  came  on 
board  the  "  Peace  "  first  (I  believe  you  were  on  board  at 
the  time).  He  was  afraid  his  old  master  was  at  the 
point  of  death,  and  that  he  would  be  buried  with  him,  so 
he  cried  for  me  to  ransom  him. 

'  I  think  I  gave  about  three  hundred  yards  of 
brass  wire  to  secure  his  freedom  ;  but  even  when  the 
price  was  paid  he  would  not  trust  himself  on  shore 
again,  though  we  stayed  at  the  beach  some  three 
or  four  days.  He  is  a  fine  manly  fellow,  and  I  am 
hopeful  he  may  turn  out  a  great  help  to  us,  for  he  has 
a  great  deal  of  influence  among  the  young  people  round 
us — is  quite  a  leader  amongst  them,  in  fact.  You  must 
pray  for  him  and  for  Dot,  and  for  several  others, 
who,  like  them  and  like  yourself,  are  trying  to  follow 
the  Lord  Jesus.  It  is  not  easy  work  anywhere,  and  it 
seems  especially  hard  here  in  Congo  .  .  . 

'  Only  a  few  days  ago  we  discovered  we  had  been 
making  a  queer  mistake  for  a  very  long  while.  You 
remember  the  place  where  Jesus  says,  "  It  is  easier  for  a 
camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a 
rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven."  What 
do  you  think  we  have  been  saying .?  Just  this  :  "  It 
is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  point,"  for  to  a 
Bobangi  man  the  "  eye  "  of  a  needle  is  its  point ;  what 
we  call  the  eye  they  call  the  nose.  They  say  the  eye 
has  no  hole  to  let  anything  through. 


Not  an  Easy  World  477 

'  Your  mother  and  I  are  both  very  glad  to  know  your 
heart  is  bent  upon  being  a  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Don't  be  afraid,  dear  Carrie,  to  let  your  light  shine.  It 
may  not  be  very  much  you  can  do,  but  you  can  always 
stand  on  the  right  side,  and  then,  though  your  own  light 
may  not  be  very  bright,  you  will  reflect  some  of  the 
brightness  of  our  Master.' 

To  Carrie  and  Gertrude. 

s.s.  'Goodwill,'  Stanley  Pool,  May  i6,  1897. 
Father  and  mother  have  at  last  finished  their  long 
journey  to  Stanley  Falls,  a  journey  that  was  all  the 
longer  because  after  having  returned  some  three  hundred 
miles  we  had  to  go  to  the  Falls  again.  We  are  now  at 
Arthington  Station,  and  expect  to  wait  here  till  dear 
Pattie  arrives.  She  ought  to  be  here  in  less  than  a 
month.  We  are  very,  very  happy  at  the  thought  of 
seeing  her,  and  we  only  wish  we  could  see  you  too  ;  but 
you  must  stay  at  school  and  get  on  with  your  lessons, 
and  get  ready  for  going  out  into  the  big,  big  world  like 
Pat.  It's  not  an  easy  world  at  all  to  get  on  in,  and  it 
will  be  all  the  harder  if  you  don't  make  good  use  of  your 
time  at  school  in  preparing  for  it. 

'But  I  will  leave  the  nasty  old  lessons,  and  talk 
about  even  more  important  things — the  things  of  your 
heart.  Even  if  I  am  a  bit  cross  when  I  see  your  report, 
when  I  read  what  you  say  about  trying  to  be  good,  I 
forget  it  all,  and  am  very,  very  glad.  Even  though  you 
were  as  clever  as  Miss  Unwin  herself,  dear  Carrie,  and 
your  heart  was  not  right,  I  should  be  very  miserable. 
The  great  thing  is  to  wish  to  be  good,  and  if  you  really 
wish  it  you  will  get  all  the  help  you  need  ;  for  God's 
promise  is  sure,  and  it  will  come  out  all  right,  whatever 
people  may  think  of  your  having  tried  and  failed  before. 


47^      Letters  to  his  Children 

*  I  can  understand  your  being  a  bit  sensitive  about 
it ;  but,  dear  Carrie,  all  those  who  are  interested  in  you 
will  be  delighted  to  see  you  trying  again,  and  they  won't 
think  or  say  what  you  imagine.  All  those  who  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  are  glad  at  heart  when  they  see  the  lambs 
keeping  to  the  straight  path.  You  need  not  talk  much 
about  it,  dear  child.  Just  pray,  and  do  the  right  thing, 
and  you'll  be  happy  yourself,  and  make  those  round  you 
happy  too,  as  well  as  father  and  mother  and  all  those 
who  love  you,  but  are  far  away,  I'm  sure  Miss  Unwin 
would  be  delighted  to  see  that  your  heart  was  really 
given  to  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  she  writes  very  kindly  about 
you,  notwithstanding  what  you  fear.  But  mind,  dear 
Carrie,  it's  no  use  to  give  up  a  great  part  of  your  heart, 
if  you  keep  even  a  little  corner  for  yourself.  If  Jesus  is 
to  be  your  Lord  and  King,  He  must  reign  over  it  all. 

'Both  mother  and  father  send  their  love  to  you 
both ;  and  assure  you  of  our  unfailing  prayers  on  your 
behalf 

To  Gertie. 

Stanley  Pool,  November  21,  1897 

'  Father  and  mother  kept  your  birthday.  We  had  a 
nice  cake,  only  the  cook  boy,  when  he  took  it  out  of  the 
tin,  pulled  the  top  away  from  the  bottom.  But  it  tasted 
just  as  good.  We  also  had  some  of  our  friends  to 
dinner  in  your  honour,  and  made  quite  a  "  good  time  " 
of  it,  considering  we  are  quiet  Congo  Mission  folk.  And, 
only  fancy,  we  played  "snap  "  and  "happy  families,"  and 
it  is  many  a  long  day  since  your  father  played  "  snap," 
though  your  mother  does  so  often  with  the  little  Congo 
children  who  come  to  our  house  for  an  hour  or  two  in 
the  evenings  before  going  to  bed. 

'  Pattie  was  not  at  home  when  I  left  your  mother  at 
Bolobo,  a  few  days  ago,  but  I  expect  she  will  be  there 


A  Piece  of  Stping*  479 

by  the  time  I  get  back.  She  went  away  in  the  Mission 
steamer  "  Henry  Reed,"  and  Miss  Vigor  (only  she  is 
Mrs.  Christopher  now),  who  went  out  to  the  Congo 
with  her,  was  on  board  as  well.  Only  fancy,  Pattie 
was  "  sea-sick "  on  Lake  Mantumba,  and  so  also  was 
Mrs.  Christopher,  though  she  is  a  good  sailor.  The 
waves  get  up  quite  big  on  the  lake,  as  you  would 
know  if  you  could  only  remember  how  they  rolled 
you  about  when  father  and  mother  took  you  there  in 
the  "  Peace." 

*I  am  very  glad  to  see  that  you  are  making  good 
progress  with  your  writing.  If  you  keep  on  as  you 
have  begun,  you  will  write  very  nicely  by  the  time  you 
are  as  old  as  Carrie. 

'Auntie  told  me  she  was  sending  you  a  scrap-book, 
so  I  have  no  doubt  that  you  have  received  the  one  you 
were  hoping  for  when  you  wrote.  What  do  you  put  in 
your  scrap-books  ? 

'  I  want  you  to  send  me  a  piece  of  string,  to  show 
us  how  tall  you  are.  You  must  stand  against  the  wall, 
and  get  Carrie  to  make  a  little  mark  on  a  line  with  the 
top  of  your  head,  and  then  you  can  easily  send  a  piece 
of  string  just  as  long  as  will  reach  from  the  mark  to  the 
floor.  I  also  want  another  piece  of  string,  to  tell  us  how 
tall  Carrie  is. 

'  I  have  sent  four  pictures.  You  are  to  have  one  of 
the  large  ones,  and  the  photo  of  poor  "Gwen."  Carrie 
will  tell  you  how  that  Gwen  is  dead,  and  also  about  my 
poor  milking  goat  having  been  drowned. 

*Do  you  collect  postage-stamps  yet?  If  so,  Carrie 
must  let  you  have  half  of  those  I  now  send. 

•  Mother  is  not  here,  to  send  her  love,  but  I  am  sure 
she  wants  me  to  send  her  own  as  well  as  mine  when  I 
write,  so  I  send  you  "  lots  "  from  both.' 


48o      Letters  to  his  Children 

To  Carrie. 

s.s.  *  Peace,'  Stanley  Pool,  November  21, 1897. 

'  I  came  here  two  days  ago,  making  the  journey 
without  other  company  than  some  of  my  boys  in  the 
dear  old  "  Peace."  She  is  not  so  fine  a  boat  as  the 
"  Goodwill  "  by  a  long,  long  way,  but  she  will  always  be 
more  to  me  than  her  grander  sister.  Didn't  my  darling 
Carrie  live  a  great  part,  if  not  the  greater  part  of  her 
Congo  life,  on  board  the  "  Peace  "  ? 

'  Some  one  said  to  me  yesterday,  "  Do  you  think  the 
Baptist  Missionary  Society  would  sell  the  '  Peace '  ?  " 
I  very  confidently  replied  that  they  could  not  do  it 
without  selling  me  too.  .  .  . 

'This  time,  coming  down  river,  I  drowned  your 
mother's  favourite  milking  goat,  and  I  shall  get  into  big 
trouble  when  I  get  back  to  Bolobo,  I  know.  About 
twenty  miles  below  Bolobo  we  met  bad  weather,  and  it 
became  impossible  to  tow  the  boat  in  which  the  goat 
was  placed  alongside  the  "  Peace."  We  therefore  got 
out  a  long  rope  and  towed  the  boat  astern,  thinking  all 
would  go  as  usual,  and  that  when  the  wind  subsided  we 
could  just  have  her  alongside  again.  But  the  water 
gradually  broke  over  the  bows,  till  she  had  just  enough 
on  board  to  make  her  steer  badly,  and  then  all  at  once 
she  filled  and  went  down.  We  have  more  than  once 
before  had  similar  experiences,  but  usually  we  had 
warnings  enough  to  take  the  needful  measures.  This 
time,  however,  we  no  sooner  realized  that  things  were 
becoming  dangerous  than  down  she  went. 

'A  poor  little  sheep,  of  no  particular  worth,  swam 
about,  and  one  of  our  men  swam  after  it  and  brought  it 
on  board.  Our  fine  goat,  so  valuable  on  account  of  its 
milk,  was  securely  tied  to  one  of  the  thwarts,  and  so 
could  not  save  itself.     So  I  have  lost,  till  I  get  back  to 


Letters  to  Everybody       481 

Bolobo  again,  my  nice  fresh  milk  that  I  prize  so  much 
and  your  mother,  the  finest  goat  of  her  flock.' 

To  Gertie. 

Bolobo,  September  15,  1898. 

'Father  and  mother  have  been  very  anxious  to 
know  how  you  got  on  at  the  doctor's — what  he  did 
to  you,  and  how  long  you  had  to  stay  in  London,  We 
were  very  glad  to  get  your  letter  the  other  day,  and  to 
learn  you  were  so  well  through  it  all,  though  we  had  no 
details.  .  .  . 

'  Your  little  sister  Grace  is  growing  quite  fast,  and  is 
trying  to  write  letters  to  everybody.  She  makes  such 
lots  of  funny  little  straggling  signs  that  are  quite 
original,  but  keeps  them  fairly  well  in  line,  and  regular 
as  to  size  ;  but  whether  they  are  a's  or  b's  or  x's  the 
cleverest  of  us  cannot  make  out.  However,  you  may 
soon  expect  to  get  some  sort  of  an  answer  from  your 
dear  little  G.  I.  G.  She  can  sing  several  Bobangi 
hymns,  has  been  to  school  once,  and  is  going  again 
to-day.  Perhaps  she  may  begin  to  recognize  real 
letters,  and  how  to  make  them,  instead  of  her  own 
original  ones.  I  am  sending  you  a  new  picture  of  your 
sister ;  it  is  not  a  very  nice  one,  but  it  will  show  you 
that  she  is  growing.  She  sends  you  lots  of  love,  so  does 
your  Mother  and  also  your  affectionate  Father.' 

To  Carrie. 

Banalya,  September  30,  1902. 

•  I  have  already  written  to  you  in  reply  to  your  long 

letter,  and  this  is  just  a  line  or  two,  to  tell  you  how  I  am 

getting  on,  and  how  I  left  mother.     She  was  going  to 

write  you  as  I  left.     I  am  very  sorry  you  had  such  a  big 

fit  of  the  "  blues  "  just  before  you  wrote.    I'm  very  much 

afraid  my  letter  about  your  holidays  will  have  given  you 

another.     I  shall  not  be  at  rest  in  my  own  mind  till  I 

hear  from  you,  and  know  how  you  have  taken  it.  .  .  . 

2  I 


482      Letters  to  his  Children 

*  Now  about  those  wretched  "  blues  "  or  "  dumps  " — 
what  can  I  say  to  you  ?  Girls  about  your  age  and  with 
your  volatile  spirits  are  often  subject  to  them,  I  fancy,  so 
yours  does  not  appeal  to  me  as  an  extraordinary  case. 
It  has  just  got  to  be  met  by  ordinary  expedients,  and 
first  and  foremost  by  your  getting  out  of  yourself  as  far 
as  possible.  Too  much  introspection  does  not  tend  to 
comfort,  or  to  confidence  in  yourself. 

*  I  am  glad  you  have  friends  in  whom  you  can  con- 
fide, wise  friends,  who,  seeing  your  immediate  symptoms, 
can  prescribe  for  them  better  than  I  can,  who  am  so  far 
away.  Like  your  poor  self  your  poor  father  has  had  his 
fits  of  the  "  blues,"  very  bad  fits  at  times.  The  cares  of 
this  life,  and  the  cares  of  my  position  as  a  missionary, 
and  the  responsibilities  of  the  work  before  me,  all 
legitimate  enough  in  their  way  (to  say  nothing  of  un- 
faithfulness), have  been  quite  enough  to  weigh  my  poor 
spirit  down,  as  the  Pilgrim's  burden  did.  But  just  as 
sure  as  I  get  to  the  place  where  his  rolled  off,  mine  rolls 
off  too  !  It  does  not  matter  what  the  load  is,  down  it 
drops  and  disappears  ! 

'  I  think  as  I  get  older  I  am  getting  wiser  in  dis- 
cerning the  approach  of  the  "  blues,"  and  am  becoming 
more  humble,  in  recognizing  that  there's  only  one  thing 
to  be  done,  and  in  doing  it.  Of  course,  when  the  burden 
falls  off  it  does  not  fall  off  to  set  you  free  to  please  your- 
self, but  that  you  may,  in  the  fulness  of  a  very  blessed 
liberty,  do  the  will  of  Him  by  whose  grace  you  are  freed. 
When  I  am  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross  I  always  get  a 
message  from  the  loving  face  of  Him  who  is  nailed 
there,  though  I  hear  no  word.  I  do  not  always  rise  up 
knowing  just  what  to  do,  though  it  is  often  made  quite 
plain  ;  and  in  cases  where  it  is  not  made  plain  I  am 
enabled  to  go  away  with  the  fullest  confidence  in  being 


*Ad[am  Bede'  483 

guided  aright  when  the  time  for  taking  action  comes,  if 
I  will  but  accept  the  Holy  Spirit's  leading. 

'  It  will  be  helpful  to  you,  perhaps,  if  you  get  some 
good  biography  to  read.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned  I 
find  nothing  so  interesting,  and  it  seems  to  me  good 
biographies  teach  just  what  I've  tried  to  tell  you  above. 
I  don't  say  you  must  not  read  other  books,  such  as  good 
novels,  for  instance,  but  you  must  not  try  to  feed 
yourself  on  light  literature.  It  is  not  "  filling  "  enough 
to  sustain  a  healthy  constitution.  You  might  with 
advantage,  for  I  think  you  are  old  enough,  read  Ada7n 
Bede,  if  it  comes  in  your  way,  and  even  if  you  have  read 
it  I  should  like  you  to  read  it  again,  with  a  special  view 
to  studying  "  Dinah  Morris."  The  authoress,  I  believe, 
was  scarcely  accepted  as  a  consistent  Christian,  but  she 
certainly  could  not  have  been  far  from  the  Kingdom,  or 
she  could  not  have  drawn  such  a  character.' 

To  Carrie. 

Bolobo,  October  13,  1903. 

'You  will  be  wanting  news  of  mother  and  father, 
and  not  a  sermon  !  and  seeing  you  have  heard  so  little 
of  late  you  ought  to  get  quite  a  budget.  You  have 
been  very  good  to  send  us  such  interesting  letters,  and 
we  both  of  us  greatly  prize  the  daughterly  affection 
that  has  prompted  you  to  keep  on  writing  at  such 
length  though  you  have  had  so  little  in  reply.  God 
bless  you,  dear  Carrie  ! 

'The  fact  is,  I  had  so  much  writing  to  do,  as  the 
result  of  the  recent  turn  in  Congo  affairs,  that  I've  had 
no  time  for  anything  else  except  the  dryest  business. 
I  need  not  tell  you  that  many  of  the  things  said  in 
England  about  the  Congo  are  very  wide  of  the  mark. 
People  at  home  do  not  understand — how  can  they .? 

'  You'll  think  father  has  got  off  on  another  line,  and 


484      Letters  to  his  Children 

is  telling  me  nothing  of  what  I  want  to  hear !  Well — 
where  shall  I  begin  ?  First  of  all,  I'm  very  much  better 
than  I've  been  for  a  long  time,  and  I'm  getting  quite 
hopeful  again,  though  I  am  still  anxiously  waiting  for 
permission  to  occupy  new  territory,  and  have  had 
another  great  "set  back"  in  the  shape  of  a  serious 
accident  to  the  "  Peace." 

'  On  the  2nd  we  ran  a  trial  trip,  to  see  that  all 
was  right  for  the  proposed  journey  up  the  Kwango. 
Everything  went  well,  and  we  brought  the  steamer  to 
her  moorings  intending  to  commence  loading  up  the 
following  week.  On  the  night  of  the  5th,  however,  we 
had  a  very  heavy  storm,  and  the  "  Peace  "  was  carried 
by  the  force  of  the  wind  and  the  waves  from  her 
moorings,  and  only  narrowly  escaped  coming  to  the  end 
of  her  history.  Hearing  the  shouting  on  the  beach, 
Mr.  Stapleton  and  I  soon  got  into  some  clothes  and 
turned  out  to  see  what  had  happened,  and  found  the 
poor  old  craft  (on  board  of  which  you  learnt  to  walk) 
blown  up  stream  against  the  currents  on  to  the  long 
reef  of  rocks  which  stretches  out  into  the  river  just 
above  the  station.  We  thought  nothing  could  save  her 
from  pounding  herself  to  pieces,  and  should  not  have 
been  surprised  had  she  crumpled  up  and  gone  down,  for 
the  wind  was  coming  right  across  the  six-mile  stretch  in 
front  of  Bolobo,  and  the  waves  broke  on  the  beach  in  a 
style  almost  incredible  for  inland  water.  The  "  Carrie  " 
was  soon  swamped  and  filled  up — it  took  us  a  couple 
of  days  to  dig  her  out  of  the  sand !  I  fear  she  has 
finished  her  wanderings.  She  has  been  down  at  the 
bottom  of  the  Congo  several  times,  but  has  come  home 
to  wind  up  her  career  ! 

'  The  photos  I  send  will  give  you  some  idea  of  the 
damage    done   above    the   water   line,  and   the  repairs 


l^^^Hp 

§ttfH^ 

-^^ 

rarT"' 

/ 

/; 

4j|K|| 

^ 

-& 

'^^ 

^^ 

GRENFELL   IN   CAMP   OX   THE  ARUWIMI  RIVER,  BELOW  YAMBUVA  RAPIDS. 


MISSION   STEAMER   'PEACE'   AFTER  A  TORNADO,   BOLOBO. 
Photos:  G.  Grciifell. 


Photo] 


RIVERSIDE   TOWN,   BOPOTO.  [Rev.  Wm.  For/eitt. 


Bees  in  Possession  485 

necessary,  but  there's  a  lot  to  be  done  to  the  hull, 
which  does  not  show  in  the  pictures.  I  never  saw  boys 
work  better  than  they  did  in  saving  the  "  Peace,"  and 
though  they  have  many  and  many  a  time  given  me  a 
heart-ache  because  of  their  heedlessness,  I  felt  quite 
proud  of  them  for  the  way  in  which  they  struggled  for 
the  mastery  over  the  storm,  and,  even  though  they  had 
failed,  as  for  quite  a  time  I  feared  they  would,  I  still 
should  have  been  greatly  encouraged  by  the  evidence 
they  had  given  of  having  grit  in  them.  I  sometimes 
say  these  people  will  take  a  lot  of  "  saving,"  but  they 
are  well  worth  it  after  all ! 

*  Since  I  commenced  this  letter  we  have  had  a 
serious  tussle  with  a  swarm  of  bees,  and,  so  far,  they  are 
masters  of  the  situation,  notwithstanding  I've  had  my 
sailor  boys  to  help!  Your  mother  heard  that  I  was 
almost  "  eaten  up,"  and  rushed  out  to  drag  me  off,  and 
got  such  stings  on  her  face  and  hands  as  have  made  her 
a  sight  to  see,  and  rendered  her  glad  of  help  in  being 
dressed !  I  had  a  few  stings,  it  is  true,  but  taking  care 
to  pull  them  out  at  once,  I  have  not  suffered  nearly  as 
much  as  your  mother. 

"  These  bees  had  taken  possession  of  one  end  of 
Melbourne  Hall,  the  dispensary  end,  and  some  days  it 
was  impossible  for  Miss  de  Hailes  to  give  out  medicines, 
so  something  had  to  be  done.  It  is  a  galvanized  iron 
building  lined  with  planks,  and  the  bees  had  made  a 
store-house  for  their  honey  between  the  iron  sheets  and 
the  wooden  lining.  There  were  some  very  fine  pieces 
of  "  comb  "  secured,  some  of  them  nearly  a  foot  square  ; 
but,  as  I  said  before,  the  bees  are  still  masters  of  the 
situation,  though  there  are  signs  that  they  are  preparing 
for  a  move,  two  big  "  swarms "  being  in  course  of 
formation. 


486      Letters  to  his  Children 

'  We  are  anxiously  looking  for  the  photos  you  have 
had  taken,  and  are  wondering  if  being  twenty  makes 
any  visible  change !  You  will  see  I  am  sending  you 
two  I  have  just  taken  of  mother. 

'  Mother  sends  you  lots  of  love,  as  I  do  too,  and  as 
we  also  do  for  Gertrude  and  Isabel.  God  bless  you,  dear 
children,  and  make  the  way  for  you  all  to  be  very,  very 
plain,  and  especially  plain  just  now  for  your  dear,  dear 
self!' 

To  Carrie. 

Stanley  Pool,  February  3,  1904. 

'We  got  back  from  the  Kwango  to  Bolobo  on 
January  26  ;  but  as  we  found  the  "  Goodwill  "  there, 
waiting  to  bring  us  here  for  the  Conference  of  Congo 
missionaries,  we  simply  transferred  our  things  from  the 
"Peace,"  and  came  right  on  ;  that  is,  after  getting  our 
November  and  December  letters  which  had  accumulated 
during  our  absence. 

'  On  the  journey  from  which  we  have  just  returned 
we  got  as  far  as  the  Kingunji  Falls,  where  it  becomes 
impossible  for  steamers  to  further  push  their  way.  The 
last  twenty  miles  or  so  was  very  difficult  navigation, 
almost  like  climbing  up  stairs  in  places.  Now  and  then 
it  was  so  dangerous  that  several  of  the  crew  took  off 
most  of  their  clothes,  in  case  they  might  have  to  swim 
for  it. 

'  The  current,  by  reason  of  the  heavy  rains,  was 
much  stronger  than  on  my  previous  visit  in  1886.  (I 
left  you  with  your  mother  at  Stanley  Pool  that  time, 
and  three  months  later  we  started  for  England.)  The 
current  this  time  was  so  strong  that  we  were  unable  to 
make  headway  against  it  with  the  "  Isabel  "  in  tow,  so 
we  left  it  behind  at  one  of  the  trading  factories. 

'  This  being  the  case,  when  we  reached  Kingunji  I 


Turned  Back  487 

did  not  feel  it  would  be  wise  to  continue  my  journey  on 
beyond,  as  I  intended,  seeing  I  should  have  to  go  in  an 
open  boat.  In  my  comfortable  canoe,  the  "  Isabel,"  I 
should  not  have  minded  a  spell  of  bad  weather  ;  but  to 
face  rain  and  wind  every  day  and  a  tropical  storm  most 
nights,  as  we  were  doing  just  then,  would  be  particularly 
hard  upon  your  poor  old  father,  as  well  as  his  crew. 

'Turning  back  was  made  all  the  simpler  for  me,  as 
the  Commissaire  of  the  District  happened  to  reach 
Kingunji  while  we  were  there,  and  kindly  promised  to 
take  Luvusu  and  Dala  with  him  to  Kiamvo's,  to  which 
point  (some  six  days  beyond)  I  had  hoped  to  convey 
them.  I  also  wrote  a  letter  to  the  missionaries  at 
Kibokolo,  which  the  Commissaire  kindly  agreed  to 
send  off  from  the  Portuguese  post,  with  a  view  to  finding 
out,  if  possible,  the  route  by  which  the  caravans  make 
their  way  westward,  and  the  time  required  to  reach 
Kibokolo  from  the  Upper  Kwango. 

*  Another  fact  which  weighed  with  me  was  that  the 
journey  had  taken  us  twice  as  long  as  I  had  anticipated, 
and  the  time  was  fast  approaching  when  I  must  start  for 
Yalemba  and  Yakusu  once  more.  Your  mother  has 
written  you  the  news  of  the  journey,  so  I  need  not  go 
over  it  again,  but  will  deal  with  some  of  the  matters 
rising  out  of  your  letter. 

*We  are  very  glad  to  get  a  sight  of  Mr.  Baynes' 
letter  to  you,  and  I  have  written  thanking  him  for  the 
interest  he  has  taken  in  the  settlement  of  the  details  of 
your  going  to  Brussels.  I  am  intending  also  to  write  to 
Sir  Hugh  and  to  Miss  Hare,  thanking  them  for  all  they 
have  done  for  you.  They  have  been  most  kind !  Mr. 
Baynes'  letter  and  Miss  Roberts'  post-card  I  am  sending 
back  with  this.  The  former,  possibly,  you  may  have 
reason  for  showing  to  some  one  some  day. 


488      Letters  to  his  Children 

'  You  will  find  Brussels  wonderfully  different  from 
quiet  Sevenoaks,  and  the  Rue  de  la  Loi  a  great  change 
after  Walthamstow  Hall  and  its  green  fields.  However, 
if  I  remember  right,  the  Rue  de  la  Loi  has  a  double  row 
of  trees,  and  is  close  to  the  Park,  but  of  this  I  am  not 
certain.     You  must  tell  me  just  where  it  is, 

'  Whatever  you  may  do,  or  leave  undone,  don't  forget 
your  Bible  reading — at  least  a  chapter  for  every  day,  and 
one  paragraph  of  the  New  Testament  read  and  thoroughly 
grasped — I  mean  grasped  in  such  a  way  as  would 
enable  you  to  explain  what  it  was  about ;  and  this  is 
not  always  so  easy  when  it  happens  to  be  in  the  Epistles  ! 

'  Brussels,  as  a  capital  city,  has  many  attractions ; 
its  inhabitants  pride  themselves  upon  their  city  being  a 
miniature  Paris  ;  but  I  want  you  to  remember  that  all 
its  brightness  and  life,  as  in  every  city,  is  very  superficial, 
and  though  life  there  may  be  very  charming  for  awhile, 
it  is  not  easy  to  get  any  real  and  abiding  satisfaction 
out  of  its  brilliancy.  I  don't  know  that  I  have  ever 
been  so  utterly  lonesome  as  in  London  or  Brussels ! 

'  I  do  hope,  dear  Carrie,  that  you  may  have  a  very 
abiding  sense  of  the  nearness  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  then 
you  will  not  be  the  least  lonely,  and  if  He  is  with  you 
you  will  never  be  in  danger.  Mother  and  I  are  praying 
very  especially  for  you.  You  will  be  sure  to  find 
difficulties.  Your  peculiar  circumstances  will  be  pretty 
certain  to  be  brought  home  to  you  in  a  more  or  less 
uncomfortable  manner  from  time  to  time,  and  you  will 
need  much  grace  and  patience  to  run  on  unruffled. 

'You  must  bend  all  your  energies  to  French,  and 
then  the  sooner  you  are  through,  the  sooner  your 
pupilage  will  end !  You  must  write  and  let  us  know 
what  your  subjects  are,  and  give  us  an  idea  as  to  your 
"  time-table."     So  far  as  we  are  concerned,  we  can  think 


Eye-g'ate  and  Eap-g'ate     489 

of  nothing  which  should  take  precedence  of  your 
devotions,  and  the  French  language,  and  if  you  attend 
to  these  we  shall  not  mind  your  taking  other  things 
easily.  If  there  are  modern  history  lessons,  you  might 
with  advantage  add  these,  if  you  are  so  inclined.  Take 
every  opportunity  of  being  out  in  the  open  air  when  the 
weather  is  fine.  "  Eye-gate  "  is  no  less  important  as 
leading  to  educational  results  than  "  ear-gate,"  that  is, 
if  you  keep  it  open. 

'It  may  be  that  as  the  daughter  of  a  Protestant 
missionary  you  may  have  to  share  in  some  of  the 
obloquy  that  Belgians  are  just  now  pouring  out  on 
Protestant  missionaries  on  the  Congo.  They  attribute 
much  of  the  agitation  re  Congo  affairs  to  the  political 
aims  of  English  missionaries.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
great  cruelties  have  been  inflicted  upon  many  of  the 
Congo  people,  though  only  few  instances  have  come 
under  the  personal  observation  of  Baptist  Missionary 
Society  men.  I  have  spoken  out,  as  a  good  man  and 
true  should  do,  concerning  those  things  that  have  come 
to  my  knowledge. 

'  We  were  much  concerned  to  hear  that  the  doctor's 
report  concerning  yourself  was  not  as  satisfactory  as  you 
hoped  it  would  be.  In  what  direction  did  he  suggest 
weakness.?  You  must  write  and  tell  us  all  you  know. 
How  about  your  poor  ankle }  .  ,  . 

'Be  sure  you  write  to  Gertie  and  to  Isabel,  and  ^xvq 
a  httle  good  advice  from  time  to  time  from  the  exalted 
position  of  your  twenty-first  year. 

'Be  a  good  girl,  dear  Carrie!  our  hearts  can  know 
no  greater  comfort  here  than  the  assurance  that  our 
children  are  preparing  for  a  happy  and  useful  future 
when  we  shall  have  left  them.  Mother  and  I  send  you 
more  love  than  we  can  say.' 


CHAPTER  XXI 
BALKED  BY  THE  STATE 

Disappointment  —  Reproached  by  the  Governor  —  Meeting  with 
Bentley  at  Stanley  Pool— Yalemba  and  Yambuya— Death  of 
Mrs,  Millman— Opposition  of  Romish  Missionaries— Importance 
of  Translation  Work  and  Schools— SigTis  of  Blessing  at  Bolobo 
— Notes  on  Industrial  Training— Good  Work  of  Disasi— 
Mawambi— Boy  Scholars— A  Bachelor  Menage— Evils  of  State 
Policy— Unity  of  Native  Races — Death  of  George  Moore  at 
Yakusu— The  Lualaba—Nyangwe— Illness  of  Grenfell— Return 
of  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt — Interviewwith  British  Consul — Voyage 
up  the  Kwango — Progress  at  Yakusu  and  Upoto — First  Hymn- 
book — Atrocities — The  Engineer  and  Carpenter  of  the  '  Peace' — 
Tsetse  Flies— Sleeping  Sickness— More  Books  Wanted— Croco- 
diles-The  Lomami— Native  Hyran-singing—Sickness  Again. 

G  REX  FELL'S  last  term  of  semce  on  the  Congo 
was  marked  by  protracted  disappointment  and 
bitter  disillusion.  He  returned  to  his  work  full  of  high 
hopes,  planning  great  extensions,  and  believing  that  the 
dream  of  his  life  was  yet  to  be  fulfilled.  He  found 
himself  balked  by  ruthless  obstruction,  and  deceived  by 
cynical  disregard  of  obligations  and  promises.  The 
consideration  which  the  State  had  shown  to  Protestant 
Missions  in  earlier  years  was  withdrawn.  Regions  from 
which  Grenfell  was  warned  off  because  of  the  dangerous 
'  unsettledness '  of  the  natives,  were  thrown  open  to 
Roman  Catholic  Missions,  and  possessed  by  them. 

Slow  to  believe  that  the  ostentatious  friendliness  and 
profusely  professed  sympathy  of  King  Leopold  could  be 


Perfidy  of  the  State  491 

mere  make-believe,  with  that  charity  which  'thinketh 
no  evil,'  he  too  long  retained  his  faith  in  the  fair  and 
benevolent  intentions  of  the  State  Administration.  His 
eyes  were  opened,  and  his  grief  was  great. 

The  investigations  of  Consul  Casement,  and  the 
Commission  of  Inquiry  which  Grenfell  had  urged  King 
Leopold  to  appoint,  made  it  impossible  that  he  should 
continue  to  ascribe  the  responsibility  of  atrocities  to  ill- 
controlled  underlings.  The  State  was  responsible,  and 
he  defended  it  no  more.  And  no  more  did  he  hope  that 
it  might  be  moved  by  humanitarian  appeal.  Like  others 
who  had  anticipated  him  in  the  recognition  of  the  truth, 
his  hope  thereafter  was  in  the  pressure  of  public  opinion 
from  without. 

The  Commission  for  the  Protection  of  Natives,  which 
he  had  regarded  as  a  valuable  check  upon  evil-doers, 
assumed  to  him  the  aspect  of  a  mere  '  blind,'  and  he 
withdrew  from  it.  When  he  was  convinced,  he  spoke 
plainly,  so  plainly  that  the  Governor,  meeting  him  upon 
his  last  up-river  journey,  overwhelmed  him  with 
reproaches,  affirming  that  of  all  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries he  had  behaved  worst. 

The  insinuation  that  he  had  connived  at  abominable 
cruelties,  by  maintaining  an  interested  silence,  was 
absurd  upon  the  face  of  it,  to  all  who  knew  the 
man.  And  in  this  matter  it  is  not  necessary  that  his 
biographer  should  be  his  apologist.  In  his  letters  he 
tells  his  own  tale.  But  the  perfidy  of  the  State, 
ultimately  undisguised,  went  far  toward  breaking  his 
brave  heart.  His  references  to  illness  and  depression 
become  more  frequent  than  of  old,  and  he  recognizes 
that  trouble  of  mind  is  working  physical  mischief. 

It  is  true  that  a  gleam  of  light  came  at  eventide. 
Some    months  before  the  end,   the    State  gave  him  a 


492         Balked  by  the  State 

grudging  and  reluctant  permit  to  occupy  Yalemba,  upon 
which  his  heart  had  long  been  set.  But  when  he  took 
effective  and  personal  possession,  he  was  already  a 
dying  man. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  Congo,  in  November,  190 1,  he 
obtained  an  interview  with  the  Vice-Governor-General, 
who  professed  much  interest  in  his  plans  for  commencing 
work  on  the  Lower  Aruwimi,  and  promised  the  most 
favourable  consideration  for  definite  application  for  sites. 
Grenfell  went  on  his  way  encouraged,  to  be  thwarted 
at  every  point.  If  the  Vice-Governor's  professions  were 
sincere,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  they  were,  he  was 
overruled  by  the  Central  Government  at  Brussels. 

On  December  9,  Grenfell  reached  Bolobo,  and  on 
February  4  commenced  a  voyage  to  the  Aruwimi.  His 
start  had  been  delayed,  that  he  might  attend  the 
General  Conference  of  Missionaries  at  Stanley  Pool,  and 
meet  Bentley.  *  The  Conference  was  quite  a  success, 
I  consider,  and  though  I  was  sorry  not  to  have  been  on 
my  way  up  river,  the  "good  time"  we  had  there,  and 
the  joy  of  meeting  Bentley,  more  than  reconciled  me 
to  delay.' 

Respecting  this  voyage,  he  writes  from  Upoto,  on 
his  return  journey,  to  Mr.  Baynes :  *  I  reached  Stanley- 
ville on  the  I  ith  ult.  and  upon  taking  the  needful  steps 
with  regard  to  our  proposed  extension  north-eastward, 
had  a  very  favourable  reception  by  the  Commissaire  of 
the  district,  who  promised,  when  communicating  with 
the  Governor-General  on  the  subject,  to  commend  my 
proposals. 

'  In  pursuance  of  the  object  in  view,  I  arrived  at 
Yalemba  on  the  14th,  a  point  fifteen  miles  east  of  the 
confluence  of  the  Aruwimi  with  the  Congo,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  measure  out  at  that  place  what  promises  to 


Seeking"  New  Sites  495 

be  a  very  important  centre  for  Mission  work,  if  we  can 
but  secure  it, 

*  On  the  17th  I  reached  Stanley's  old  camp  on  the 
Aruwimi,  the  point  whence  he  started  eastward  on  the 
Emin  Pasha  Relief  Expedition,  and  decided  to  make 
a  request  for  a  portion  of  this  camp,  as  the  second  site 
we  are  desirous  of  occupying  in  the  near  future.  Both 
sites  are  forty  feet  above  the  river,  and  have  great 
natural  advantages.  Yalemba  is  in  the  midst  of  a 
populous  district,  and  Stanley's  Camp  at  Yambuya  is 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  canoe  transit  on  the  Upper 
Aruwimi,  and  at  the  commencement  of  a  populous 
belt.  I  have  drawn  plans  to  scale,  and  taken  some 
six  hundred  altitudes  of  sun  and  stars  for  determining 
the  geographical  positions  of  these  places,  and  have 
submitted  them  to  both  the  Vice-Governor  and  the 
Commissaire  of  the  District,  with  a  formal  request  that 
our  representative  may  be  accorded  permission  to 
proceed  with  the  acquisition  of  the  land  indicated,  in 
the  usual  way.' 

At  Upoto  he  met  the  news  of  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Millman  at  Monsembe,  soon  after  her  arrival,  and  he 
writes:  *  On  reaching  this  place  a  few  days  ago  I  was 
greatly  distressed  to  hear  of  poor  Millman's  sorrow.  It 
is  a  burden  the  Lord  alone  can  help  him  to  bear  ! 
Yesterday  we  heard  that  Mrs.  Dodds  had  gone  down 
to  Bolengi  for  medical  advice,  and  are  full  of  appre- 
hension, lest  the  advice  may  be,  "  Go  to  England.'" 

By  the  middle  of  April  he  is  back  at  Bolobo,  and 
purposes  to  remain  there  until  he  gets  a  reply  from  the 
Governor  respecting  the  new  sites. 

On  April  23  he  writes  a  long  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes, 
giving  his  views,  which  have  been  sought,  on  the  subject 
of  removing  the  steamers'  headquarters  from  Bolobo  to 


494         Balked  by  the  State 

Stanley  Pool.  He  says  he  has  just  completed  a  ten 
weeks'  voyage  in  the  *  Peace,'  and  is  sorry  to  have  to 
admit  that  the  consideration  of  the  question  of  a  new 
steamer  cannot  be  long  delayed.  A  new  steamer  would 
have  to  be  built  at  the  Pool,  and  not  at  Bolobo. 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  May  4,  1902. 

'You  will  have  gathered  from  my  references  to  the 
activity  of  the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  that  we  are 
face  to  face  with  forces  which  aim  at  minimizing  our 
influence  at  every  possible  point.  In  any  country  such 
opposition  would  be  a  serious  factor,  but  in  the  Congo 
State,  where  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  have  the 
active  support  of  the  Government,  it  constitutes  a 
difficulty  which  people  in  a  really  free  country  cannot 
understand. 

*  However,  though  we  are  not  a  little  exercised 
thereby,  we  are  not  in  despair.  We  have  every  con- 
fidence in  "  the  weapons  of  our  warfare."  Many  of  the 
weapons  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  use  we  would  not 
use,  even  though  they  were  placed  within  reach  ;  and, 
besides,  they  are  weapons  which  win  but  little  more  than 
the  appearance  of  victory.  The  weapon  upon  which  we 
rely  is  "  The  Word,"  and  this,  unfortunately  for  themselves 
and  for  Christianity,  the  Roman  Catholics  seem  afraid  to 
wield.  When  they  take  to  its  use,  we  shall  rejoice  with 
them  in  their  successes.  Much  of  their  recent  success 
lies  in  more  or  less  fictitious  occupations,  with  a  view  to 
keeping  us  at  a  distance. 

'  The  present  phase  of  affairs  is  such  as  to  lead  one 
to  write  you  a  word  or  two  on  the  paramount  importance 
of  translation  work  and  schools.  The  people  must  have 
God's  Word  placed  within  their  reach,  and  be  taught  to 
read  it.     The  good  seed  is  "  T/ie  Word"  and  this  must  be 


Another  Big  Stopm  495 

sown  :  in  this  is  the  only  hope  of  Evangelical  Truth 
making  its  way  in  Africa.  We  white  people  cannot  go 
everywhere  preaching  the  Word,  but  with  God's  help 
we  can  scatter  it  far  and  wide. 

*  The  opportunity  for  insisting  on  this  is  afforded  not 
only  by  the  fact  that  we  are  face  to  face  with  an 
opposition  which  can  only  be  met  by  carrying  out  this 
policy  of  translations  and  schools,  but  also  by  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Arthington  seems  to  have  provided  for  just 
such  work.  Men  with  distinct  linguistic  ability,  and  men 
who,  like  Bishop  Tucker,  are  *'  mad  on  schools,"  are 
needed  for  the  work  before  us.' 

To  THE  Rev.  J.  Howell. 

May  9. 
'  I  have  written  to  Mr.  Baynes  re  steamer  work,  and 
have  followed  your  admirable  statement  of  the  case, 
adding  only  one  clause.  This  has  reference  to  the  bad 
beach  at  Bolobo.  In  January  the  "Goodwill"  had  a 
very  bad  time — rolled  the  funnel  over  into  the  river, 
whence  it  had  to  be  fished  up  in  the  morning,  together 
with  the  despatch-box  !  The  night  before  we  started  up 
river  we  had  another  big  storm,  and  for  a  while  "  Peace," 
"Plym,"  "Bristol,"  and  "Goodwill"  seemed  as  though 
they  would  be  piled  up  together  on  the  beach  !  The 
"  Plym "  knocked  three  holes  in  the  bow  of  the 
"  Goodwill "  and  we  could  not  start  till  a  six-foot  patch 
had  been  bolted  on  to  the  latter.' 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

Bolobo,  May  ii. 

'  I  had  a  very  pleasant  week  with  your  brother  and 
his  wife  at  Upoto,  on  the  way  down  river.  They  are 
wonderfully  well,  and,  as  usual,  full  of  work.  ...  So  you 
have  seen  my  friends,  the  Powells  of  Edenbridge.  They 
have  always  been  very   "chummy"  and  hearty.     And 


496         Balked  by  the  State 

you've  been  to  Penzance  also  !  My  poor  mother's  little 
place  is  four  miles  beyond,  and  out  of  the  world,  being 
on  the  way  to  nowhere.  She  is  very  old  and  feeble  now, 
though  she  is  still  spared  to  us.  I  am  glad  to  know  that 
your  mother  is  better  again.  She  is  a  much  yourtger 
woman  than  mine.' 

By  the  end  of  May  he  has  received  a  not  very 
satisfactory  reply  from  the  Governor  to  the  application 
for  sites.  He  intends  going  up  river  again  in  the  '  Peace ' 
to  Yakusu  with  stores,  and  then  to  Yambuya,  there  to 
take  to  canoe,  and  make  another  eastward  journey. 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

May,  1902. 

'You   will   be  glad   to  know  that   here   at  Bolobo, 

shorthanded   as  we  are,  we  are  not  without  evidences 

of  progress  and   blessing.     People  are  more  willing  to 

hear,  and  give  heed  to  the  message  they  have  so  long 

slighted.     In  fact,  many  are  professing   to  have    given 

their  hearts  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  there  are  signs  of 

good  times  coming.     It  has  been  a  long  seed-sowing, 

with  but   little   in   the  way  of  harvest  during  the  past 

three  or  four  years.     We  got  up   to  a  certain  point,  a 

membership  of  nearly  forty,  and  then  stopped.    We  have 

a  native  evangelist  out  in    a  town  some    fifteen    miles 

away,   who   is   now   entirely  supported  by  the  Bolobo 

Church,  and  who  is  carrying  on  a  promising  work.     At 

a  village  about  five  miles  to  the  south,  where  Miss  de 

Hailes    is   working,   there   are   several    conversions,   so 

things  are  beginning  to  move,  and  we  are  quite  hopeful.' 

On  July  27  Grenfell  writes  to  Mr.  Baynes  from 
Monsembe :  *  I  reached  thus  far  on  my  way  to  the 
Aruwimi  once  more  on  the  25th.'  Discussing  the  new 
steamer  project,  he  remarks  upon  the  advantages  of  a 


LEOPOLDVILLK,   STAXLEY   POOL 
Photo:  Rev.  J.  Howell. 


MAN-EATING   CROCODILE,   BOPOTO. 
Photo  :  Rev.  Win.  Forfeitt. 


MISSION   STEAMER   'ENDEAVOUR.'   OFF   KINSHASA   BEACH. 
Photo  ;  Rev.  J.  Howell. 


Off  up  the  Aruwimi         497 

shallow-draught  steamer,  h'ke  the  'Peace,'  'advantages 
which,  but  for  the  fact  of  my  having  been  so  much  tied 
down  to  the  regular  '< tramp"  service  for  the  supply  of 
the  stations  during  recent  years,  would  have  been  turned 
to  better  account.' 

In  the  course  of  his  voyage  he  wrote,  and  forwarded 
to  Mr.  Baynes,  a  paper  on  the  '  Industrial  Trainin-  for 
Natives  on  the  Congo.'  The  following  letter  from'pro- 
fessor  M.  E.  Sadler,  Director  of  the  Board  of  Education 
London,  will  account  for  the  task  and  appraise  the 
execution. 

'Board  of  Education  Library,  St  Stephen's  House 
Cannon  Row,  N.W.,  November  19,  1902.  Dear  Mr' 
Baynes  I  have  been  reading  with  great  interest  and 
profit  the  notes  on  Industrial  Training  for  Natives, 
written  by  the  Rev.  George  Grenfell  at  your  request 
and  beg  that^  you  will,  when  an  opportunity  offers' 
transmit  _  to  him  our  cordial  thanks  for  his  valuable 
contribution  to  our  volume.  It  is  short,  but  full  of 
suggestive  material,  and  I  am  particularly  glad  to  think 
that  It  will  appear  among  the  other  reports  ' 

From   Yalemba   Grenfell   wrote   Mr.  Baynes,  under 
date    September   9,    saying  he   was    leaving    the    next 
mormng  to  proceed  up  the  Aruwimi,  'from  the  mouth 
of  which  we  are  some  fifteen  miles  to  the  east '     He  had 
received  valuable  letters  of  introduction  to  State  officials 
on  the  Aruwimi,  from  his  personal  friend.  Major  Malfeyt, 
the  High  Commissioner  Royal.    He  adds, '  The  way  seems 
clear  for  my  making  a  journey  considerably  beyond  mv 
previous    farthest.      I   have   also   lost   a   little   time   in 
procuring   and   fitting   up   the   canoes   in   which    I   am 
intending  to  make  my  way  when  I  leave  the  "Peace" 
at  Yambuya,  at  which  point  further  progress  is  barred 
by  the  rap.ds  which  stopped  Stanley's  steam  flotilla  in 


2  K 


498         Balked  by  the  State 

1887,  when  he  went  in  search  of  Emin  Pasha.  It  seems 
to  me  that  God  in  His  goodness  is  making  the  way  plain 
for  me,  and  I  pray  that  this  journey  may  be  to  His  glory.' 

He  then  tells  of  the  joy  he  had  experienced  in 
witnessing  the  progress  of  the  work  at  the  stations  on 
his  way  up  river — Monsembe,  Upoto  and  Yakusu — and 
concludes,  '  I  told  you  of  one  of  our  young  men  having 
settled  among  his  people  at  Yalemba,  with  a  view  to 
teaching  them  what  he  himself  has  learned.  He  is  a 
very  worthy  Christian,  and  has  already  done  something 
towards  commencing  a  day  school.  On  the  Sunday 
I  spent  at  his  place  on  my  way  up  river,  I  was  present 
at  a  service  in  which  a  hundred  people  audibly  joined 
in  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  Eonga  language,  in  which, 
as  yet,  no  Mission  work  has  been  done  except  by  this 
young  man  Disasi. 

'  The  service  was  equally  well  attended  the  day 
before  yesterday,  and  again  I  heard  the  people  unite  in 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  To  you  at  home  this  may  not  mean 
much,  but  I  can  remember  the  time  when  it  was  more 
than  we  could  have  heard  in  all  Congoland  ;  and  this 
beginning  of  things  at  Yalemba  seemed  to  me  to  be 
fraught  with  great  and  blessed  possibilities  for  the  near 
future,  and  filled  my  heart  with  joyous  hope  ! ' 

Six  weeks  later  he  is  nearing  his  objective,  and  writes 
to  Mr.  Baynes,  on  October  21,  from  Avakubi,  Upper 
Ituri  River:  *A  further  line  or  two,  to  report  progress. 
On  the  maps  this  place  is  near  the  28th  meridian. 
To-morrow  it  is  arranged  that  I  start  for  Mawambi, 
a  place  practically  on  the  29th  meridian.  This  leaves 
a  degree  of  longitude  still  to  be  covered  before  reaching 
the  British  frontier,  and  a  few  more  miles  before  reaching 
Mboga,  the  nearest  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
Stations. 


Mountains  of  the  Moon     499 

*  In  view  of  the  announced  Church  Missionary 
Society  programme,  Mawambi  will  be  the  farthest  limit 
of  our  future  sphere,  and  though  I  could  easily  arrange 
the  transport,  I  do  not  propose  to  go  beyond  that  point 
— though  I  must  confess  it  is  a  great  temptation  to  push 
on  a  little  farther,  and  drink  of  the  water  of  the  Nile ! 
Perhaps  from  Mawambi  I  may  see  Ruwenzori,  as  when 
conditions  are  favourable  it  is  visible  from  that  place.  It 
will  be  something  by  way  of  recompense,  if  I  can  get 
a  glimpse  of  the  snow-capped  Mountains  of  the  Moon, 
which  feed  the  sources  of  the  Father  of  Rivers  ! 

'  The  carriers  who  take  me  on  to  Mawambi  will 
bring  me  back  say  in  a  fortnight's  time,  and  in  ten  more 
days  I  may  expect  to  be  back  at  the  "  Peace "  camp. 
Going  down  river  will  be  very  different  from  ascending 
it,  especially  at  this  season  of  heavy  rains  and  floods. 

*  God  is  very  good  to  me,  in  the  way  of  health  and 
strength  and,  indeed,  in  every  way !  .  .  .  I  am  told  that 
a  considerable  part  of  the  route  between  this  place  and 
Mawambi  lies  along  the  track  already  "  picketed  "  for 
the  railway  between  the  Falls  and  the  "  Grand  Lakes." 
I  touch  it  first  three  days  away  from  Avakubi.' 

In  the  end  Grenfell  got  as  far  as  Mawambi,  eighty 
miles  from  the  Uganda  frontier,  and  wrote, '  I  could  have 
gone  on  farther,  had  I  cared  to  do  so,  but  I  was  plainly 
in  the  Church  Missionary  Society  field,  and  at  the  end 
of  my  pioneering  for  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  in 
this  direction.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Yalemba,  November  13. 

'With  the  purpose  of  getting  to  know  something  of 
the  languages  spoken  in  the  country  through  which  I 
have  passed,  I  have  brought  down  with  me  twelve 
youths,    representatives   of   the    three    principal    tribes 


50O         Balked  by  the  State 

with  whom  I  have  come  into  contact.  Some  of  these, 
we  may  hope,  will  in  the  future  be  messengers  or  help 
others  to  become  messengers,  of  the  Truth  it  will  be  our 
one  desire  they  should  learn  during  their  stay  with  us. 
They  came  on  the  understanding  that  they  work  during 
the  half  of  each  day,  and  go  to  school  the  other  half. 

*0n  these  terms  it  seemed  as  though  I  could  have 
secured  almost  any  number,  and  many  were  greatly 
disappointed  because  I  could  not  take  them.  Some 
of  them  absolutely  cried!  As  soon  as  ever  they  have 
learned  one  or  other  of  our  school  languages,  I  trust  we 
may  be  able  to  put  them  into  the  care  of  a  brother 
whose  linguistic  instincts  specially  qualify  him  for 
the  gathering  of  vocabularies  and  grammar  notes,  which 
will  be  of  the  utmost  importance  when  the  time  comes 
for  us  to  occupy  the  Upper  Aruwimi.  They  have 
already  commenced  "  going  to  school,"  for  we  have  with 
us  two  teachers  who  have  assisted  at  Bolobo,  who  give 
daily  lessons  to  twenty  young  people  on  board  the 
"  Peace  "  and  the  "  Bristol." 

'As  soon  as  I  reach  Bolobo  I  shall  commence  the 
putting  together  of  the  geographical  notes  I  have 
collected,  with  a  view  to  making  a  map,  which  I  hope 
will  be  of  service  in  helping  you  to  realize  the  distances 
and  bearings  of  the  various  points  I  have  named.' 

At  Christmas  he  is  back  in  Bolobo,  making  plans  for 
forward  work,  when  the  opposition  of  the  State  should  be 
overcome. 

Prior  to  spending  Christmas  at  Bolobo  he  went  down 
to  Stanley  Pool.  On  New  Year's  Day  he  was  back 
again,  to  meet  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt,  and  to  confer  with 
him  and  Mr.  Howell  concerning  the  transfer  of  the 
steamers  from  Bolobo  to  Kinshasa. 

On  January  i8, 1903,  he  was  summoned  to  the  Pool  in 


Visitors  and  Servants       501 

haste,  on  account  of  Mrs.  Gordon's  serious  illness,  whom 
Mrs.  Grenfell  remained  to  nurse.  This  condemned  him  to 
a  bachelor  manage  on  his  return  to  Bolobo,  of  which  he 
gives  a  very  piquant  description  to  his  friend  Mr.  Thomas 
Lewis,  of  Birmingham. 

*  January  24.  Your  very  kind  and  welcome  letter  of 
the  close  of  November  reached  me  last  evening.  The 
*'Ville  d'Anvers"  (Government  steamer)  brought  it  up, 
and  as  the  day  was  done  when  she  arrived,  the  captain 
dined  with  me  on  the  remains  of  the  Congo  fowl  (pigeon 
size)  which  had  served  for  my  breakfast.  I  mean  my 
mid-day  meal,  for  somehow  we  have  got  into  the  conti- 
nental mode  of  naming  our  feeding-times.  I'm  all  by 
myself  just  now  (will  explain  later),  and,  as  is  often  the 
case,  visitors  seem  to  be  more  than  usually  numerous. 
Here,  at  Bolobo,  we  are  on  the  main  highway  to  the 
heart  of  the  continent,  and,  as  compared  with  our  early 
days,  "  crowds  "  go  by.  I  had  five  visitors  to  dine  with 
me  on  Christmas  Day  (two  Dutch  and  three  French), 
and,  instead  of  having  the  quiet  day  I  was  looking  for- 
ward to,  I  had  to  drill  my  boys,  and  get  something  for 
the  table.  And  you  know  I  am  so  far  from  being  a 
"domesticated"  man  that  the  effort  must  have  been  a 
trying  one  for  me.     However,  I  got  through  it. 

'  My  chief  engineer  helped  to  cook,  and  the  carpenter 
lent  a  hand  to  the  steward,  and  the  engineer's  mate  and 
the  carpenter's  ditto  waited  at  table.  Patience  having 
most  of  the  domestic  staff  with  her  at  the  Pool  ;  and 
really  we  got  on  wonderfully  well.  The  engineer  &  Co. 
had  a  big  time  with  the  fragments,  which  were  by  no 
means  inconsiderable,  for  some  of  them  had  been  out 
with  my  shot-gun  the  day  before,  and  brought  in  a 
brace  of  partridges,  and  the  party  that  went  with  the 
rifle  had  brought  a  deer. 


502         Balked  by  the  State 

'  To-night  a  Frenchman  came  along  in  a  canoe,  but 
as  he  was  better  known  to  my  colleague,  Clark,  than  to 
myself,  and  as  Clark  has  his  wife  with  him  to  fix  up 
things,  I  only  played  the  host  to  the  extent  of  a  cup  of 
tea,  and  then  handed  him  on.  He  comes  from  a  point 
ten  miles  up  stream  on  the  other  bank — has  a  bad  tooth, 
which  he  wants  drawn,  but  must  have  an  anaesthetic ! 
Can't  face  the  music  without !  And  while  I  can  draw 
a  tooth  if  a  man  has  nerve  enough  to  look  at  the 
forceps,  I  don't  feel  equal  to  holding  his  head  up 
while  I  drag  out  the  stump  of  a  wisdom  tooth  from  his 
lower  jaw. 

*  This  much  by  way  of  introduction,  and  letting  you 
into  something  of  an  idea  of  my  circumstances.  Oh,  but 
I've  not  finished  the  introduction  yet,  for  I  meant  to 
have  told  you  something  of  my  immediate  circumstances. 
Time  8  p.m.  I'm  seated  at  the  top  of  my  dining-table 
(in  top-boots  to  circumvent  the  mosquitoes)  ;  at  the  other 
end  of  the  table  are  three  boys — the  cook  and  one  of 
the  brickmakers  playing  draughts,  and  Dalla  (engineer's 
mate)  reading  a  book. 

'  Dalla  is  the  boy  who  used  to  "  lay  the  table,"  but 
who  did  not,  as  Isabel  told  somebody,  "  lay  the  eggs." 
The  cook  is  in  "  undress  "  uniform,  and  yesterday  he  was 
all  glorious  in  khaki  and  felt  (coat  is.,  pants  lod.,  hat 
7^d.),  and  I  took  his  photo !  Dalla  and  the  brickmaker 
are  in  butcher's  blue  ;  I'm  in  my  shirt-sleeves,  but  I've  a 
collar  on  and  a  tie !  While  my  French  visitor  was  here 
I  wore  a  white  jacket,  also  a ,  black  "  cummerbund,"  but 
as  soon  as  I  had  "passed  him  on,"  I  lapsed  into  the 
liberty  of  braces,  though  I  am  not  sure  but  that  I  shall 
have  to  don  the  jacket  again,  for  the  mosquitoes  are 
making  light  of  shirt  and  undervest,  and  boring  through 
them  to  get  my  blood !     But  I'm  not  telling  you  how  it 


Success  in  Colonizing^       503 

is  that,  though  in  my  Congo  home,  Tm  living  a  bachelor 
life — of  course  it  is  because  my  wife  is  away.' 

There  was  sickness  at  Stanley  Pool,  and  also  at 
Bolobo.  He  himself  has  not  been  well.  Early  in 
February,  however,  he  starts  up  river  on  another  voyage, 
marked  at  the  outset  by  many  provoking  delays.  He 
fears  that  these  delays  may  prevent  his  making  the 
journey  south  from  Stanley  Falls  upon  which  his  heart  is 
set.  It  would  be  a  great  disappointment  to  him  ;  but  he 
would  take  it  calmly,  believing  simply  that  his  way 
was  determined  by  wisdom  greater  than  his  own.  He 
was  twenty  days  reaching  Upoto,  and  reports  having  had 
a  miserable  time  during  part  of  the  journey,  being  shut 
up  in  his  cabin  with  fever  and  cold. 

His  letters  en  voyage  are  numerous,  and  most  of 
them  contain  references  to  the  distress  and  disappoint- 
ment inflicted  upon  him  by  the  steadfast  refusal  of  the 
State  to  grant  new  sites. 

From  *  near  the  Lubi  River,'  on  March  lo,  he  writes 
a  long  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes,  containing  an  important 
pronouncement  on  the  defects  of  the  Congo  State  system. 
*  I  am  not  a  little  concerned  about  a  matter  in  which 

I   think    's    influence    might   be   very   beneficially 

exercised.  I  want  you,  when  the  occasion  offers,  to 
bring  to  his  notice  the  fact  that  the  Congo  State  is  doing 
little  or  nothing  towards  the  development  among  the 
natives  of  a  class  whose  great  interest  it  shall  be  to 

maintain  the  status  quo.     understands  how  much 

British  success  in  colonizing  has  been  dependent  upon 
the  aim  of  our  administrators  to  make  it  to  the  interest 
of  an  important,  and,  as  far  as  may  be,  a  numerous  class 
to  support  the  Government.  .  .  . 

'South  Africa  is  apparently  destined  to  become  a 
white  man's  country,  in  a  sense  that  can  never  be  true  of 


504        Balked  by  the  State 

the  Congo.  The  white  man  by  mere  force  of  numbers 
can  possibly  always  dominate  the  position  south  of  the 
Zambesi ;  but  it  is  hopeless  for  him  to  think  of  doing  so 
to  the  north.  The  power  to  be  firmly  established  on  the 
Congo  is  one  that  shall  be  based  upon  the  self-interest 
of  the- people,  or  upon  that  of  a  leading  class.  Very  con- 
siderable enlightenment  is  being  acquired  by  the  natives 
in  the  whole  of  the  black  man's  belt  of  Africa.  As 
soldiers,  many  of  the  ilite  of  the  present  generation  of 
Congo  men  are  widely  travelled,  and  have  developed  a 
wonderful  amount  of  resourcefulness,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  have  come  to  understand  in  how  many  directions 
their  privileges  and  liberty  are  being  curtailed.  Instead 
of  the  creation  of  a  large  class  who  recognize  it  as  to 
their  interest  to  support  the  Government,  the  very  reverse 
is  the  case  !  The  gradual  development  of  a  more  or  less 
educated  community,  with  a  personal  interest  in  the 
exploitation  of  the  resources  of  their  country,  could  be 
counted  upon  to  lend  stability  to  the  authority  under 
which  it  prospered. 

*  The  world  is  now  too  old,  and  the  circumstances  of 
the  tropics  are  too  adverse,  to  allow  of  the  Congo  being 
successfully  administered  without  the  intelligent  co- 
operation of  the  heads  of  the  people,  or  without  very 
cogent  appeals  to  the  self-interest  of  at  least  a  very 
considerable  section.  Educational  facilities  for  the  in- 
telligent, and  business  opportunities  for  the  enterprising, 
would  soon  create  a  class  whose  sympathies  would  be  in 
favour  of  a  stable  Government.  .  .  . 

'  Britain  would  find  it  difficult  to  maintain  her 
authority  among  Africans,  if  she  had  to  depend,  in  the 
last  resort,  upon  African  troops,  though  she  can  draw 
levies  from  the  extreme  corners  of  the  continent.  The 
Congo  people  are  all  neighbours,  speaking  languages  (all 


Along>side  the  'Wheel'      505 

derived  from  a  by  no  means  remote  mother  tongue) 
which  allow  of  the  lingua  franca,  in  course  of  evolution, 
being  spoken  and  largely  understood  from  Banana  on 
the  coast  to  Lado  on  the  Nile  !  They  all  belong  to  one 
great  family,  are  in  no  way  separated  by  differences  of 
creed,  and  are  fast  forgetting  their  old  inter-tribal  feuds. 
I  have  met  officials  who  are  by  no  means  blind  to  the 
possibilities  that  are  suggested  by  such  facts,  but  the 
Congo  service  is  not  generally  regarded  as  a  career,  so 
the  possibilities  are  not  taken  seriously.  "  It  will  last  my 
time,"  I  have  heard  as  a  full  and  sufficient  reply  in 
several  instances. 

'  In  writing  as  I  do  I  would  not  have  you  think  that 
I  apprehend  any  immediate  difficulty.  The  difficulty  I 
foresee  is  yet  some  distance  in  the  future,  but  how  far, 
is  not  to  be  forecast.  If  the  developments  since  the 
founding  of  the  Congo  State  are  continued  at  the  same 
pace,  great  changes  will  have  to  be  provided  for  a  few 
years  hence,  and  these  changes  can  only  be  intelligently 
appreciated  and  provided  for  by  men  who  make  the 
Congo  service  a  life-career.  Doubtless,  "  things  will  last 
my  time ; "  but  it  would  be  an  infinite  satisfaction  for 
me  to  see  them  shaping  away  from  instead  of  towards 
disaster. 

•  Forgive  me,  my  dear  Mr.  Baynes,  for  bothering  you 
with  my  thoughts  on  this  topic.  They  are  written  as  I 
stand  alongside  the  "  wheel "  on  the  "  Peace,"  and  I  fear 
they  may  seem  very  incoherent ;  you  will,  however, 
recognize  the  importance  of  the  subject  on  which  I  write, 
though  you  fail  to  see  the  wisdom  of  my  suggestions ; 
and  as  possibly  the  opportunity  may  occur  for  your 
securing  the  attention  of  those  who  alone  are  able  to 
deal  with  the  matter,  I  commend  them  to  your  very 
serious  thought.' 


5o6         Balked  by  the  State 

Grenfell  reached  Yakusu  on  March  20,  after  a  long 
and  most  trying  voyage.  His  stay  there  was  utterly  dis- 
tressful. He  was  seriously  ill  for  a  fortnight  himself, 
and  sorrow  was  heaped  upon  sorrow  for  him,  by  the 
illness  and  death  of  his  young  colleague,  George  Moore, 
who  was  to  have  accompanied  him  upon  his  journey 
south.  Moore  died  on  Easter  Sunday,  the  death  that 
was  transfigured  by  faith  in  Him  Who  is  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Life.  Of  course,  in  the  sad  circumstances,  Gren- 
fell's  friends  at  Yakusu  endeavoured  to  dissuade  him 
from  his  projected  journey  ;  but  he  said,  '  If  God  gives 
me  the  strength  to  go,  I  am  going  on  ; '  and  he  went. 
Some  few  notes  only  of  this  journey  can  be  presented. 

On  the  eve  of  starting  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Hawkes : 
*  This  event  [the  death  of  Moore]  has  resulted  in  the 
postponing  of  the  start  from  April  15  to  20  (to-morrow), 
and  all  being  well  the  "  Peace  "  will  take  me  up  to  the 
foot  of  the  Falls  by  about  three  o'clock  to-morrow.  While 
the  two  canoes  I  have  had  fitted  with  roofs  over  the 
middle  sections  are  being  got  round  the  seventh  cataract 
(as  the  last  of  the  Stanley  Falls  is  called),  my  belongings 
and  myself  will  find  our  way  by  the  road  that  has  been 
made  to  smooth  water  beyond. 

'  There  are  six  other  cataracts  to  be  passed  before  the 
Stanley  Falls  series  will  be  behind  us  (five  days'  hard 
work),  and  then  we  shall  have  open  water  for  nearly 
three  hundred  miles,  or  to  about  fifty  miles  from  Nyangwe. 
I  am  hoping  to  get  as  far  as  Kasongo's  town,  forty  miles 
beyond  Nyangwe ;  but  man  proposes,  God  disposes  :  I 
am  in  His  hands.  One  of  the  young  men  in  my  com- 
pany was  sold  away  from  Kasongo's  some  fifteen  or 
sixteen  years  ago,  and  has  never  since  seen  his  home. 
I  have  also  another  young  man  with  me  from  the  same 
district,  but  he  has  only  been  absent  some  five  or  six 


At  Nyang'we  507 

years.  Both  are  members  of  our  Bolobo  Church,  and 
the  elder  of  the  two  is  a  very  earnest  and  capable  worker, 
quite  a  good  speaker,  and  I  am  hoping  with  his  help  to 
hold  some  interesting  services.' 

To  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis. 

Mulamba  Shambola,  Lualaba  River,  May  lo. 
'  It  is  Sunday  evening,  and  I  am  having  a  quiet  time 
in  camp,  and  naturally  enough  I'm  thinking  of  old  times 
and  old  friends,  and  also  my  still  unfulfilled  promise  to 
write  to  you.  You  will  be  wondering  where  Mulamba 
Shambola  is.  Well,  it  is  really  on  the  Congo,  which 
beyond  Stanley  Falls  is  mostly  known  as  the  Lualaba. 
Another  fifty  miles  to  the  south  and  thirty  to  the  east, 
and  I  shall  be  at  Nyangwe,  the  place  where  Livingstone 
stayed  for  quite  a  time  on  his  last  and  memorable 
journey,  and  where  he  saw  such  terrible  results  of  the 
Arab  sway  as  moved  him  to  make  those  soul-stirring 
appeals  to  Christendom  which  did  so  much  towards  the 
founding  of  Central  African  Missions  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago.  If  God  wills,  I  shall  be  spending  next 
Sunday  in  Nyangwe.' 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

Nyangwe,  May  24. 

'  My  farthest  point  this  time  was  Kasongo's,  some 
forty  miles  beyond  where  I  am  staying  the  Sunday  and 
writing  this  short  note.  The  journey  has  been  a  most 
interesting  one,  and  I  have  learned  many  things  it  was 
impossible  to  learn  save  by  going  over  the  ground.' 

This  letter  contains  many  interesting  facts  which  lack 
of  space  rules  out,  and  concludes :  '  I  think  I  told  you 
I  had  not  been  very  well.  I'm  all  right  again  now, 
thank  God !  On  the  sixth  day  after  leaving  the  Falls 
I  came  to  a  stop,  and  almost  turned  back,  but  after  a 
few  days'  rest  I  was  well  enough  to  go  on.' 


5o8         Balked  by  the  State 

By  the  middle  of  June  he  was  at  Yalemba,  on  the 
return  journey,  lamenting  that,  *  the  cloud  caused  by  the 
refusal  of  the  State  to  grant  the  sites  for  which  we 
applied  has  been  over  me  all  the  while  I  have  been 
away  south.  I  returned  safely  a  few  days  ago,  to  find 
my  mails  waiting  for  me,  and  the  position  in  no  way 
mended  by  the  announcement  in  the  March  Btilletin 
Official  of  2500  acres  having  been  ceded  to  the 
Premontrant  Fathers  in  that  same  district  to  which 
we  are  looking.' 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

Upoto,  July  5. 

*  I  reached  Yalemba  nearly  a  month  ago,  but  since 
that  time  have  done  little  or  nothing.  The  enclosed 
letter  [quoted  above]  is  the  only  thing  in  the  way  of 
correspondence  that  I  have  attempted.  The  fact  is, 
I  have  been  unwell  again — enteritis,  dysentery,  etc. 
Williams  reached  Yalemba  just  as  the  dysentery  was 
declaring  itself,  and  brought  me  down  to  Basoko,  that 
I  might  see  the  doctor.  We  stayed  there  from  the 
Friday  till  the  Monday,  by  which  time  the  symptoms 
were  much  less  serious,  and  then  came  on  here,  arriving 
on  the  3rd.  .  .  . 

'  If  I  am  well  enough,  I  shall  be  making  a  start  on 
the  8th.  If  I  continue  to  make  the  progress  I  have 
made  during  the  past  few  days,  I  shall  be  quite  equal  to 
the  journey  by  the  time  Tuesday  comes  round,  though 
just  now  I'm  very  shaky.  The  attack  was  very  severe 
while  it  lasted,  and  I  suffered  a  good  deal,  but  I'm  quite 
convalescent  now.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Upoto,  July  6. 

'  I   pray   the   Committee   may   not    be    discouraged 

because  of  this  rebuff.     There's  an  infinitude  of  work 


*She  v/ill  Last  my  Time'    509 

to  be  done  on  the  Congo !  If  we  cannot  for  the  present 
obtain  other  stations,  we  must  enlarge  our  operations 
at  the  points  we  already  occupy.  We  must  establish 
schools  and  out-stations,  teach  the  people  to  read,  and 
give  them  the  Gospel  in  print  in  their  own  dialects.  .  .  . 
God  give  us  more  love,  more  wisdom,  and  more  of  the 
power  of  His  Spirit  for  the  Work ! ' 

During  August  his  occupations  are  various,  as  usual. 
They  include  a  long,  important  and  statesmanlike  letter 
to  the  Vice-Governor,  urging  the  appointment  of  a  Special 
Commissioner,  *  to  be  charged  with  the  investigation  of 
certain  matters  which  appeal  to  me  as  important  for  the 
well-being  of  the  people  and  of  the  State  itself.' 

A  letter  in  the  same  sense  was  despatched  by 
him  to  King  Leopold.  Also  he  had  both  steamers  on 
the  slip-way,  and  writes  :  *  The  poor  old  '*  Peace  "  is  in  a 
really  bad  way,  but  I  shall  have  to  patch  her  up  somehow 
for  a  year  or  two  yet.  Perhaps  she  will  last  my  time  ! 
As  soon  as  she  is  ready,  I  am  proposing  to  go  up  the 
Kwango ;  and  by  the  end  of  the  year  I  hope  to  be 
starting  for  Yalemba  again,  to  do  something  serious 
there.' 

At  the  end  of  August  Grenfell  and  Lawson 
Forfeitt  met  at  Stanley  Pool,  to  talk  over  important 
matters.  They  also  had  interviews  with  the  Vice- 
Governor,  who  happened  to  be  there  at  the  time,  on 
Congo  State  affairs.  As  a  result  Grenfell  wrote,  urging 
the  Committee  to  call  Mr.  Forfeitt  home,  for  conference 
respecting  the  critical  situation  on  the  Congo. 

In  his  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes  he  said :  '  I  very  strongly 
urge  the  Committee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  to 
call  our  Congo  Secretary  to  England,  to  confer  with  him. 
...  I  believe  Bentley  is  with  me  in  believing  that  no  one 


5IO         Balked  by  the  State 

takes  a  saner  view  of  matters  than  our  Secretary.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Forfeitt  being  the  legal  representative  of  the  Society, 
being  also  "  well  seen  "  by  the  authorities,  and  enjoying 
the  fullest  confidence  of  his  colleagues,  as  well  as  by  reason 
of  his  long  experience  in  more  or  less  delicate  negotiations 
with  the  Government,  lis  marked  out  as  the  one  member 
of  our  Society  peculiarly  fitted  to  advise  with  our 
Committee  at  the  present  juncture.' 

This  appeal  was  also  endorsed  by  Bentley,  and  In 
response  a  cablegram  was  despatched  by  Mr.  Baynes  to 
Mr.  Forfeitt,  recalling  him  to  England  for  a  time. 

As  Grenfell  had  been  far  from  well,  Mr.  Forfeitt 
advised  him  to  seek  advice  of  Dr.  Sims,  of  Matadi. 
Seeing  that  Grenfell  could  not  face  the  two  days'  journey 
to  Matadi  by  train,  Dr.  Sims  most  kindly  met  him  at 
Tumba  (half-way),  to  which  point  he  and  Mr.  Forfeitt 
travelled  together  from  the  Pool. 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt,  who  is  about  to 
START  for  England. 

Kinshasa,  September  ii. 
•With  regard  to  the  Commission  for  the  Protection 
of  Natives,^  both  Bentley  and  I,  in  view  of  the  difficulty 
in  securing  a  sitting  (by  reason  of  the  long  distances 
separating  the  members  of  the  said  Commission  princi- 
pally), have  availed  ourselves  on  several  occasions  of  the 
facilities  afforded  us  for  addressing  the  Governor- 
General  direct,  in  accordance  with  terms  specially 
inserted  when  the  Commission  was  reconstituted.  We 
flatter  ourselves  that  our  communications  have  been  as 
well  received  as  those  of  the  United  Commission,  and  that 
they  have  been  effective  in  calling  attention  to  the  points 
raised.     All  being  well,  we  leave  for  Bolobo  on  the  14th.' 

On  the  journey  he  had  an  interview  with  the  British 

'  As  to  which  there  had  been  much  criticism  in  England. 


Accident  to  the  'Peace'     511 

Consul,  who  was  on  his  way  down  river,  after  making 
investigations  as  to  atrocities,  and  affirmed  that  having 
'  only  commenced  his  inquiries  as  to  the  state  of  affairs 
on  the  Upper  Congo,  he  has  secured  a  mass  of  terrible 
evidence.' 

After  his  interview  with  the  British  Consul  Grenfell 
promptly  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  Congo 
Independent  State,  Brussels,  resigning  his  place  on  the 
Commission  for  the  Protection  of  the  Natives,  being 
convinced  that  it  had  chiefly  been  intended  as  a  *  blind,' 
and  that  the  Congo  authorities  were  responsible  for  the 
mis-government  and  atrocities  accompanying  the  system 
in  force. 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  October  9. 

'  This  week  I've  been  much  upset  by  an  accident  to 
the  "  Peace."  She  was  carried  from  her  moorings  by 
a  heavy  storm  on  Monday  night,  and  only  narrowly 
escaped  being  entirely  lost.  The  enclosed  photograph  will 
give  you  some  idea  as  to  the  repairs  I  have  to  make 
before  carrying  out  my  proposed  Kwango  journey,  which 
cannot  now  be  made  till  early  in  December.' 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

Bolobo,  November  14. 

'  I  am  not  without  hope  that  by  the  time  you  get  to 
England  Congo  questions  will  be  so  far  before  the  world 
that  a  specialist  like  yourself  from  the  field  will  be  able  to 
afford  very  welcome  help  at  many  points,  and  especially 
to  demonstrate  to  how  serious  a  degree  Article  VI.  of  the 
General  Act  of  Berlin  has  been  disregarded.  In  1885 
Bentley  was  on  the  spot  at  the  psychological  moment, 
and  did  valiant  service.  I  trust  you  may  be  specially 
helped,  and  have  the  right  word  given  you  in  very 
gracious  measure ! ' 


512         Balked  by  the  State 

Grenfell  had  intimate  and  confidential  correspondence 
with  the  British  Consuls,  and  was  able  to  render  them 
valuable  help  in  their  work.  On  December  i8  he  wrote 
from  s.s.  '  Peace,'  Bwemba,  to  the  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt : 
*  Enclosed  you  will  find  a  letter  I  have  written  to  Consul 
Casement,  in  reply  to  that  he  sent  me  through  you,  some 
time  before  you  left  for  England.  You  will  kindly 
forward  it  for  me.  You  might  show  Mr.  Baynes  what 
I  have  written.' 

Then  he  tells  of  recent  incidents  of  mis-government 
and  says :  '  I  tell  you  of  this,  that  you  may  be  prepared 
for  arguments  Brussels  will  very  naturally  use.  I  am 
sending  under  another  cover  copies  of  sundry  communi- 
cations which  have  come  into  my  hands.  I  have  received 
permission  to  pass  them  on  to  you  for  your  use,  if  you 
find  them  of  service.  ...  I  am  here  on  my  way  to 
the  Kwango.  Expect  to  be  back  at  Bolobo  at  the  close 
of  January.' 

To  THE  Rev.  J.  Howell. 

Kalakitina,  Kwango  River,  December  26. 

*  I  have  just  finished  my  seventh  day  up  the  Kasai 
and  the  Kwango.  In  the  Kasai  we  averaged  sixteen 
knots  per  diem,  and  on  the  Kwango  we  are  not  doing 
twelve !  So  far,  we  have  stopped  from  six  to  ten  times 
each  day,  to  get  up  steam  to  get  round  strong  points — 
have  been  swept  back  by  the  current  most  ignominiously 
on  several  occasions !  I  have  never  had  to  face  such  a 
continuous  body  of  strong  water,  and  the  poor  old 
"  Peace,"  I  suppose,  was  never  in  worse  fettle  for  it.  We 
have  ninety  knots  to  do  on  the  Kwango  before  we  reach 
the  rapids,  and  about  the  same  distance  to  do  beyond, 
by  canoe,  if  our  programme  is  carried  out.  This  will 
take  us  a  few  miles  south  of  Kibokolo,  but  how  far  to 
east  is  not  at  all  certain.' 


Inadequate  Rejoicing'        513 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt  (in  England). 

Stanley  Pool,  February  3,  1904, 

'  I'm  very  much  "  played  out,"  and  want  a  quiet  time. 
The  Conference  with  its  three  sessions  per  day,  on  the 
top  of  the  stress  of  the  Kwango  journey,  has  been  a  bit 
too  trying  for  one  of  my  years.' 

During  this  year  (1904)  the  matter  of  new  sites  was 
ever  present  to  Grenfell's  mind.  He  took  the  keenest 
interest  in  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt's  mission  to  England,  and 
was  well  pleased  to  have  Mr.  Baynes's  warm  approval 
of  the  suggestion  which  led  to  Mr.  Forfeitt's  temporary 
recall.  For  some  time  he  hoped  that  since  the  State  had 
occupied  a  site  at  Mundungu  on  the  Itimbiri  river  which 
the  Society  had  purchased,  Mr.  Forfeitt  might  be  able  to 
negotiate  an  exchange  of  Mundungu  for  Yalemba. 

Mr.  Forfeitt  did  ultimately  secure  a  site  at  Yalemba, 
but  only  on  lease  ;  and  to  this  day  the  State  holds  the 
Mission  property  at  Mundungu,  and  takes  a  rent  for 
Yalemba.  Meanwhile  the  long  delay,  and  the  persistent 
check  to  Grenfell's  forward-reaching  purpose,  so  depressed 
him  that  he  often  had  to  take  shame  to  himself  for  the 
inadequacy  of  his  rejoicing  in  the  splendid  progress  of 
the  Mission  at  Yakusu  and  Upoto,  where  the  eagerness 
of  the  people  for  instruction  was  intense  and  wide-spread 
beyond  precedent. 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  February  20. 
'  Your  kindly  references  to  myself  afforded  me  much 
consolation,  for,  as  I  need  hardly  tell  you,  I  have  felt  the 
stress  of  our  recent  circumstances  in  no  light  measure. 
However,  upon  no  one's  shoulders  has  the  burden  fallen 
more  heavily  than  upon  your  own,  and  you  have  our 
very  sincerest  sympathy  in  what  has  been  involved  by 
the  year  of  the  Cong©  crisis,  as  well  as  by  the  work  in 

2  L 


514         Balked  by  the  State 

China  and  other  fields.     Our  prayers  often  ascend  on 
your  behalf.  .  .  . 

'Our  young  people  are  greatly  pleased  to  have  the 
message  of  thanks  from  the  Committee  for  what  they 
did  on  the  night  of  October  5  in  saving  the  "Peace" 
from  breaking  up  on  the  rocks.  It  is  a  recognition 
which  will  not  be  thrown  away  upon  them.  Like  the 
rest  of  the  world,  they  like  to  know  their  efforts  are 
appreciated.* 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  April  11. 

'  If  there  are  some  things  that   cause   anxiety,  we 

have    great    compensations    in    the    good    news    from 

Yakusu,  where  the  desire  to  learn  to  read  still  continues 

to   spread   in   the    most    encouraging    manner.      From 

Upoto  also  we  hear  of  the  branch  schools  inland  making 

really  wonderful   progress,   and   of   there    being    good 

promise    of   the    "  reading    fever "    catching    on    there 

also.  .  .  . 

*  The  Government  is  introducing  quite  a  new  system 
of  taxation,  but  it  is  altogether  too  elaborate,  in  my 
opinion,  to  be  practicable,  and  lends  itself,  or  promises 
to  lend  itself  in  the  hands  of  unscrupulous  agents,  to 
very  serious  abuses.  We  shall  see  how  it  works  out 
when  it  comes  into  operation.  .  .  . 

'  We  have  had  baptismal  services  most  months  lately, 
though  we  are  admitting  only  two  or  three  at  a  time. 
So  you  see  our  little  Church  continues  to  grow.  Our 
Day  schools  and  Sunday  schools  are  also  prospering,  and 
we  shall  soon  have  to  think  of  more  accommodation. 
Yesterday  there  were  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty 
scholars  present,  and  just  now,  as  we  are  having  it 
particularly  hot,  it  is  no  small  effort  that  is  required  to 
work  such  a  crowd.' 


[I'lioto  :   a.  Gixiifcll. 
THE    B.M.S.    MISSION   CHURCH,    HOLOBO. 


PRINTING    HOUSE   SQUARE,'  BOLOBO. 


The  Recent  Revelations     5^5 

To  Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes. 

Bolobo,  April  14. 

*  You  at  home  will  be  laying  most  stress  upon  news 
from  the  seat  of  war  [Boer  War].  Missionaries  and 
State  people  alike  out  here  look  first  for  news  concerning 
Congo  affairs,  for  every  one  regards  the  anti-Congo 
campaign  as  a  serious  matter.  You  can  easily  imagine 
the  Protestant  missionary  is  not  a  popular  man  just  now 
on  the  Congo.  However,  I  am  glad  to  believe  that 
there  is  not  one  of  us  who  cares  for  being  popular  or  not, 
so  long  as  he  can  do  the  right  thing. 

*  For  myself,  I  may  say  that  the  recent  "  revelations  " 
are  as  much  revelations  to  me  as  they  are  to  the  world 
at  large.  I  had  come  to  believe  that  such  things  were 
no  longer  possible,  and  when  I  met  Consul  Casement 
coming  down  river  with  a  mass  of  evidence  I  was  bound 
to  respect,  I  was  so  upset  that  I  almost  turned  the 
"  Peace  "  down  river,  that  I  might  go  at  once  to  Europe 
and  represent  matters  in  the  highest  places. 

*  However,  I  did  wisely  in  resisting  the  impulse,  for 
I  could  have  done  nothing  which  has  not  since  been 
done  in  a  much  more  emphatic  manner  than  would  have 
been  possible  to  one  who  had  no  direct  evidence  to  give. 
I  hear  of  quite  a  number  of  prosecutions  of  both  white 
and  coloured  agents  of  the  State,  and  expect  there  will 
be  some  severe  sentences. 

'  As  I  have  said,  times  and  again,  the  laws  are  good 
and  sufficient.  The  difficulty  lies  in  securing  their 
observance.  The  present  enforcement  of  them  will 
exert  very  salutary  influence ;  but  it  will  remain  still 
to  provide  for  that  influence  becoming  continuous,  and 
not  temporary  in  its  operation. 

*  Some  friends  seem  to  think  that  because  my  name 
has  not  figured  prominently,  I  have  done  nothing.     As  I 


5i6         Balked  by  the  State 

wrote  to  Mr.  Stead  in  response  to  his  request  for  my 
view,  "  It  was  not  demonstrated  that,  because  I  did 
not  write  to  the  papers,  I  was  not  moving  at  all."  It 
would  of  course  be  presumptuous  for  me  to  say  that 
anything  I  have  written  to  Boma  or  Brussels,  or  that  I 
have  said  to  the  Governor-General  in  the  three  interviews 
with  which  he  honoured  me  last  year,  has  influenced  the 
policy  of  the  Congo  State.  However,  seeing  that  steps 
now  being  taken  in  certain  directions  accord  with  opinions 
I  have  ventured  to  express,  it  may  be  that  my  views 
were  not  absolutely  without  weight  in  endorsing  the 
need  for  certain  reforms,  which  must  have  been  apparent 
to  every  experienced  onlooker  who  had  seriously  studied 
Congo  matters  on  the  spot. 

'  Naturally,  I  have  been  much  pained  by  certain 
reflections  in  the  denominational  papers.  However,  I 
can  sincerely  say  I  have  taken  the  course  in  which  I  felt 
I  could  best  serve  the  interests  of  the  people,  and  that  I 
have  not  been  as  quiescent  as  some  might  imagine  would 
be  easy  to  prove,  if  I  cared  to  enter  upon  a  campaign  of 
self-defence.  For  your  information,  however,  I  will  say 
(you  won't  misunderstand  me,  I'm  sure)  that  by  last  mail 
Consul  Casement  wrote  thanking  me  for  the  "part"  I 
had  "  played,"  and  for  the  "  assistance  "  I  had  rendered 
to  the  cause  in  which  he  had  been  so  busy  for  the  past 
few  months.  In  a  recent  circular  from  the  Mission 
House  the  Committee  assured  us  they  were  not 
indifferent,  as  had  been  asserted,  but  that  they  would 
sympathetically  receive  any  evidence  as  to  the  need  for 
reform  on  the  Congo. 

'  I  enclose  an  extract  from  the  Almanack  du  Congo. 
The  writer  is  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Force  Publique.  He 
touches  the  crux  of  the  whole  matter— finance !  You 
might  imagine  from  what  he  writes  that  it  is  only  the 


Insufficient  Pay  517 

Concession  Companies  who  pay  such  small  salaries,  but 
I  can  assure  you  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  State 
agents  do  not  receive  more  than  the  companies  give. 
As  yet  Belgium  does  not  understand  that  Colonial  officers 
must  be  specially  trained  and  adequately  paid,  if  they 
are  in  any  way  to  steer  clear  of  the  thousand  and  one 
difficulties  of  Colonial  administration. 

'  The  State,  in  my  opinion,  will  not  only  need  more 
money  to  pay  for  better  service,  but  will  have  to 
find  it  in  face  of  a  diminishing  revenue  from  present 
sources.  This,  of  course,  is  only  "  opinion."  But,  seeing 
that  the  last  annual  shipments  of  rubber  were  less  than 
those  of  the  previous  year,  and  that  rumour  has  it  that 
the  shortage  will  be  really  serious  this  year  (some  say  by 
as  much  as  a  third !)  obviously  my  opinion  is  not 
absolutely  baseless.  Financial  pressure  will  not  be  more 
easily  reckoned  with  than  that  of  public  opinion,  and  just 
what  is  to  come  of  it  all  is  not  to  be  foreseen. 

'  Poor  Carrie,  as  the  daughter  of  a  Protestant 
missionary,  will  not  be  having  a  pleasant  time  of  it  in 
Brussels,  I  fear.  Last  mail,  for  the  first  time  for  a  very 
long  while,  brought  us  no  letters  from  her,  and,  somehow, 
I  have  never  felt  so  anxious  on  her  behalf.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  April  i8. 

'  The  mails  just  in  bring  me  word  of  no  advance  as 
regards  our  negotiations  with  Brussels  re  "  Forward 
Sites,"  nor  any  reference  to  the  "Endeavour."  I  am 
greatly  disappointed. 

*  As  you  are  aware,  I  have  maintained  that  the  lack 
of  success  we  have  had  in  our  recent  appeals  to  Brussels 
was  the  outcome  of  the  political  situation  in  Belgium, 
which  made  it  difficult  for  his  Majesty  to  maintain  the 
friendly    attitude    of    earlier    years.       This    means    of 


5i8         Balked  by  the  State 

consolation,  I  fear,  is  no  longer  valid,  for  Le  Mouvement 
des  Missions  Catholique  for  February,  to  hand  three  days 
ago,  contains  the  following : — "  The  Welle  Mission  is 
making  a  new  extension,  by  the  founding  of  a  third  post 
at  Gumbali's,  to  the  north-east.  The  recrudescence  of 
the  Protestant  propaganda  in  the  mission  field,  the 
request  by  his  Majesty  the  King  Leopold  II.,  who  wished 
to  prevent  {privenir)  the  installation  of  Lutheran 
ministers,  and  the  repeated  requests  of  the  natives,  have 
determined  our  missionaries  to  delay  no  longer  in  putting 
this  project  into  execution." 

*The  publication  of  such  a  paragraph  is  most 
significant,  and  distresses  me  not  a  little.  It  has  the 
ring  of  an  official  injunction  about  it,  indicating  a  great 
deal  more  than  is  on  the  surface.  ...  It  is  too  late  in 
the  world's  history  for  the  course  of  Evangelical  Missions 
to  be  more  than  temporarily  stopped.' 

To  I\lR.  Thomas  Lewis. 

Bolobo,  April  i8. 

•Yours  of  December  i6  must  have  crossed  my  last  to 
your  good  self.  Did  I  not  write  you  a  little  earlier  than 
that  date,  telling  you  of  my  trouble  with  the  "  Peace," 
and  indulging  in  a  sort  of  general  wail  t  Your  letter  did 
my  heart  good,  and  cheered  me  up  not  a  little  when  I 
got  it.  It  was  like  "  a  draught  of  the  elixir  of  life  out 
of  a  quart  jug."  (Tell  your  brother's  wife,  when  next  you 
see  her,  I'm  grateful  to  her  for  the  simile !)  I  could 
almost  feel  the  grip  of  your  hand,  and  see  the  kindly 
light  in  Jennie's  eyes.  Eh,  Tom  lad,  the  memories  of 
such  are  very  precious  in  a  far-off  land ! ' 

On  May  3,  ten  miles  south  of  the  Equator,  Upper 
Congo,  he  continued  his  letter  to  Mr.  Lewis,  as  follows : 
"  I've  just  put  a  line  on  the  previous  sheet,  to  complete 
the  sentence  I  left  unfinished  upon  the  cry  of  "  Sail  ho ! " 


No  Stone  Unturned         519 

announcing  the  arrival  of  the  steamer  bringing  the  State 
functionary  charged  with  the  organization  of  the  new 
"  fiscal "  system  for  the  Congo. 

*  It  seems  as  though  the  State,  in  revenge  for  the 
part  played  by  Protestant  missionaries,  were  going  to 
worry  us  and  make  things  as  difficult  and  bothersome  as 
possible.  People  in  England  have  no  conception  of  the 
*'  red  tape "  of  continental  officialdom,  and  the  red  tape 
of  a  continental  colony  is  even  more,  vexatious  and  inane. 

*  I  have  always  been  a  law-abiding  citizen,  and  so  I 
set  to  work  at  once  upon  lists  and  declarations,  that  I 
might  get  them  off  my  mind ;  but  it  took  me  just  four 
solid  days,  and  by  the  time  I  got  through  my  head  was 
in  such  a  state  that  letter-writing  was  beyond  me,  so 
I  put  the  finishing  touches  upon  my  preparations  for  the 
steamer  journey,  and  started  up  river  a  week  ago. 

'  I  fear,  notwithstanding  my  efforts  to  comply  with 
the  law,  that  some  of  our  "  orphans  "  may  be  taken  from 
our  care,  and  handed  over  to  Roman  Catholic  missions  ; 
the  officer  informing  us  that  "being  a  Roman  Catholic 
State,  it  had  no  power  to  place  orphans  under  other  than 
Roman  Catholic  tutelage."  They  won't  let  us  have  more 
land,  and  now  threaten  to  take  some  of  our  children 
away !  I  fear  they  will  leave  no  stone  unturned  that 
can  possibly  be  put  in  our  way  to  hinder  us. 

*  You  see,  the  Roman  Catholic  politicians  in  Belgium 
are  the  party  in  power  just  now,  and  the  clerics  are 
having  it  all  their  own  way.  I  wonder  if  they  hope  one 
day  to  get  hold  of  the  ropes,  and  pull  them  in  England  > 
I  fancy,  however,  that  at  the  first  sign  of  such  a  tendency 
the  Britisher  would  make  as  clean  a  sweep  as  they 
appear  to  be  making  at  this  time  in  France.  It  is  just 
that  sort  of  thing  that  John  Bull  would  get  awfully  wild 
about.  .  .  . 


520         Balked  by  the  State 

•  On  the  second  day  out  from  Bolobo,  we  visited  the 
out-station  at  Bongende,  founded  by  Nkosi,  and  took 
part  in  examining  the  school  he  commenced,  and  at  one 
of  the  services  heard  the  people  sing  one  of  the  hymns 
(No.  7)  he  translated  for  them.  The  language  spoken 
there  is  quite  different  from  that  spoken  at  any  other 
of  our  stations,  and  this  little  hymn-book  is  the  first 
printed  in  it.  There  were  more  than  a  hundred  present 
at  the  service,  and  if  it  had  not  been  market  day  we 
should  have  had  many  more.  Day  scholars  number 
about  sixty. 

•  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  we  visited  the 
new  outpost  where  poor  Nkosi  ^  lies  buried.  The  white 
cross  which  marks  his  grave  at  the  top  of  a  cliff,  about  a 
hundred  feet  above  the  river,  is  visible  from  some  two 
or  three  miles  down  stream,  in  fact,  it  makes  quite  a 
landmark. 

'  A  few  weeks  more  than  twenty  years  have  elapsed 
since  I  first  landed  at  the  foot  of  the  same  cliff,  and  was 
driven  off  at  the  point  of  the  native  spears.  It  was 
already  sunset  when  I  arrived,  and  it  was  two  hours 
before  we  found  a  sandbank  upon  which  we  could  camp 
for  the  night.  The  reception  was  very  different  this 
time.  The  teacher  and  a  little  crowd  of  school  children 
stood  on  the  beach  to  welcome  us,  and  I  spent  a 
very  pleasant  time  in  the  village  on  the  plateau  just 
beyond.' 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

Bolobo,  June  26. 

'  The  "  Livingstone "  came  in  last  evening,  bringing 
the  Armstrongs  and  Ellerys,  homeward-bound.  Mr. 
Armstrong  kindly  takes  charge  of  an  important  letter 

•  The  teacher  Nkosi  was  drowned  by  the  upsetting  of  his  canoe  during 
a  tornado. 


Keeping  Sabbath  521 

of  mine  for  Mr.  Baynes,  inside  the  cover  of  which  I 
enclose  this.  He  is  also  taking  a  twenty-page  letter 
from  Mr.  Stannard  to  Dr.  Guinness,  detailing  recent 
horrors  (last  month)  that  have  transpired  in  the  A.B.I. R. 
district — stories  of  cannibalism,  etc.,  by  A.B.I. R.  sentries, 
following  upon  murder  of  women  and  children.  Photo- 
graphs of  mutilated  remains  and  two  charred  bones  from 
one  of  these  feasts  are  also  on  their  way  to  Dr.  Guinness. 
The  State  will  have  to  move  soon,  and  that  very  energeti- 
cally, if  it  is  to  retain  any  vestige  of  the  respect  of  its 
oldest  friends.     I  am  more  distressed  than  I  can  say.' 

In  a  letter  of  June  30,  Grenfell  tells  of  preparations 
for  another  trip  up  river,  and  on  July  31  addressed  the 
following  to  Miss  Hawkes,  of  Birmingham,  from  S.S. 
"  Peace,"  near  Equatorville  : — 

'  It  is  Sunday,  and  somehow  on  Sundays  my  heart 
seems  specially  drawn  out  to  "  dear  ones  at  home."  I've 
just  finished  a  letter  to  the  children,  and  now  begin  this 
to  you,  in  the  hope  of  getting  ready  for  the  post-office, 
which  we  hope  to  reach  in  a  few  hours'  time.  When  we 
reached  the  military  camp  at  Irebo  yesterday,  we  found 
the  Commandant  there  was  very  anxious  about  one  of 
his  men  who  had  a  bad  arm,  so  I  offered  to  take  him  on 
to  the  State  station  at  Coquilhatville,  some  five  miles 
beyond  the  Equator,  where  there  is  a  doctor. 

'  Last  night  we  reached  one  of  our  wooding  camps, 
set  to  work  and  cut  quite  a  pile  of  firewood,  in  readiness 
for  making  a  good  start  early  on  Monday,  after  a  quiet 
day  to-day.  However,  this  morning  we  found  the  poor 
man  with  the  bad  arm  had  had  no  sleep,  and  I  did  not 
at  all  like  the  idea  of  keeping  him  in  his  misery  that  we 
might  rest.  I  therefore  called  my  two  headmen,  Bungudi, 
the  engineer,  and  Mawango,  the  carpenter  (who  is  acting 
as  mate  and  purser  on  board),  and  asked  them  what  they 


52  2         Balked  by  the  State 

thought  the  Master  would  like  us  to  do  under  the  circum- 
stances. They  went  and  had  a  look  at  the  poor  sufferer, 
and  a  talk  to  two  or  three  of  the  crew,  and  in  a  minute 
or  two  I  heard  them  shouting  for  the  fireman  to  "fire 
up."  So,  although  it  is  Sunday,  we  are  under  way,  and 
steaming  ahead. 

'Bungudi  you  know.  Mawango  is  one  of  the  three 
little  "  stowaways  "  who  some  fifteen  years  ago  hid  them- 
selves among  the  firewood  to  escape  from  a  slave  caravan. 
You  must  have  often  heard  me  tell  the  story. 

'  Four  days  ago  we  had  an  awkward  accident,  for  we 
smashed  one  of  the  cylinder  covers,  and  had  not  a  spare 
one  on  board  to  replace  it.  With  the  remaining  engine 
we  steamed  to  a  sandbank  a  little  ahead,  to  consider 
what  was  to  be  done.  At  first  I  thought  there  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  go  back  to  Bolobo,  for  we  had  more 
than  two  thousand  miles  of  running  before  us  to  complete 
our  programme. 

*As  the  cylinder  cover  had  been  broken  into  six 
pieces,  and  as  one  of  the  crew  reported  having  seen  one 
piece  go  overboard,  Bungudi,  the  engineer,  could  not 
patch  it  together,  but  Mawango,  the  carpenter,  made  a 
new  one  of  wood.^  This  is  our  third  day  of  steaming 
with  it,  and  it  does  wonderfully  well.  A  little  steam 
gets  through  the  pores  of  the  wood,  but  only  a  little,  and 
each  day  the  escape  becomes  less  and  less.  So,  except 
that  it  cost  us  nearly  a  day  and  a  half  on  the  sandbank, 
we  are  not  much  the  worse.  It  might  have  been  a  serious 
accident  to  life  or  limb,  but  God's  good  providence,  that 
has  so  markedly  shielded  the  poor  old  "  Peace "  and 
those  on  board,  still  continues  to  protect  them !  As  I 
get  older,  I  realize  more  and  more  my  dependence  upon 

'  This  wooden  shell  is  now  in  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  Museum 
in  London. 


Tsetse  Flies  523 

God's  presence  and  help ;  and  more  and  more  do  I 
wonder  at  His  goodness  to  me. 

'Wednesday.  Just  at  this  point  I  have  had  a  bite 
from  one  of  the  tsetse  flies  that  are  credited  with 
doing  so  much  harm  among  the  natives.  I  enclose  the 
harmless-looking  enemy,  which  I've  managed  to  pinch 
between  my  finger  and  thumb.  We've  been  on  the 
look-out  for  tsetse  flies  for  years,  but  did  not  imagine  we 
had  them  in  the  familiar  "  biyiyi "  of  the  people.  (Just 
had  another  bite,  so  I  send  both  along !)  They  swarm 
in  certain  places,  and  make  life  a  trial  for  the  time 
being.  Happily,  they  all  hide  themselves  when  the  sun 
goes  down  ;  then,  however,  the  mosquitoes  begin.  The 
puzzle  is,  where  do  these  creatures  get  the  germs  of  the 
sleeping  sickness  from  }  That  they  distribute  them  when 
they  bite  is  now  a  well-established  fact.  Fortunately,  it 
is  quite  possible  to  have  the  germs  of  the  disease  in  the 
blood  without  much  apparent  harm  being  done ;  it  is 
only  when  they  get  into  the  spinal  fluid  that  they  induce 
the  characteristic  symptoms  of  sleeping  sickness. 

'  Since  starting  from  Bolobo  I've  heard  from  Patience 
that  three  of  the  cases  I  left  have  terminated  in  death. 
Poor  Bolobo !  I  thought  I  had  reason  to  hope  that  so 
far  as  that  place  was  concerned  the  worst  was  past,  but 
it  seems  as  though  it  will  have  to  sink  yet  lower  before 
things  really  begin  to  mend.  All  the  fifty  cases  we 
counted  in  December  last,  except  one  about  which  we 
were  mistaken,  have  proved  fatal,  and  it  is  very  doubtful 
if  any  of  the  fifty  or  so  cases  I  left  will  survive  till  I  get 
back.  I  suppose  all  who  are  at  all  susceptible  will  take 
the  malady,  for  there  seems  to  be  no  way  of  checking  it. 
How  many  will  be  left,  I  wonder,  when  it  runs  its  course  ? 
It  is  very,  very  sad  to  see  the  poor  people  dying  off 
without  being  able  to  help  them,  and  all  the  more  sad 


524         Balked  by  the  State 

because  their  minds  become  lethargic  as  well  as  their 
bodies,  and  it  is  impossible  to  rouse  them  to  think  of  the 
things  we  have  so  long  been  trying  to  teach  them. 

'  Our  little  Church,  as  yet,  has  suffered  but  very  lightly 
— the  better  life  the  Christians  live  has,  no  doubt,  helped 
them  to  resist  the  disease.  Whether  the  natives  are 
beginning  to  see  there  is  a  difference  in  our  favour  I  don't 
know,  but  something  is  making  them  very  much  more 
ready  to  listen  to  our  message.  Our  services  are  crowded 
as  they  have  never  been  before.  Some  are  beginning  to 
talk  about  building  a  bigger  chapel.  I've  told  them  it 
is  their  place  to  find  the  money,  and  that  if  they  will  do 
that,  I  will  draw  the  plans  and  give  any  needful  help 
that  way. 

'  News  from  Yakusu  continues  to  be  most  satisfactory, 
and  is  indeed  very  encouraging.  The  '*  Goodwill,"  which 
has  just  come  down  from  that  place,  brought  big  orders 
for  more  books  to  meet  the  demand  for  them.  The  old 
books  are  being  used  up  very  fast.  When  the  beginners 
have  got  through  their  primers  they  find  other  beginners 
waiting  to  take  them  up.  Many  are  learning  to  read 
from  letters  made  in  the  sand. 

'  When  we  were  on  a  sandbank  the  other  day  mending 
our  engine,  the  little  boys  while  playing  at  building  sand- 
houses  found  a  crocodile's  nest  with  seventy-two  eggs. 
Each  egg  was  three  inches  long  and  two  inches  round 
the  middle — a  string  of  eggs  six  yards  long  in  one  nest. 
When  they  had  taken  the  eggs  they  modelled  a  big 
crocodile  in  sand,  and  left  it  for  mother  crocodile  on  her 
return  to  the  nest.  The  creatures  kill  lots  of  people 
every  season,  and  so  everybody  is  glad  when  one  of 
them  is  killed,  or  when  their  nests  are  found.' 


An  Imppaeticable  Scheme   525 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

S.S.  'Peace,'  near  Ukataraka,  August  13. 

'  The  State  ought  really  to  take  into  consideration  the 
Loika  site,  when  they  deal  with  our  request  for  Yalemba. 
I  suppose,  however,  that  the  present  strong  feeling  against 
English  missionaries  will  make  them  unwilling  to  have  us 
at  either  place.  But  the  "sacred  rights  of  property" 
ought  to  avail  us  something.  His  Majesty  himself  used 
the  words  I  have  quoted.  .  .  . 

'  Like  yourself,  I  don't  know  what  the  end  of  it  all 
will  be,  but  I'm  still  looking  for  some  good  to  come. 
The  Inspectors  and  Commissaires  are  still  "inquiring." 
Some  officials  are  looking  forward  to  increased  collections 
of  produce  when  the  prestations  of  the  decree  of 
November  last  (forty  hours'  work  per  month  for  each 
adult)  are  enforced,  and  seem  to  quite  anticipate  the 
feasibility  of  the  project.  It  can't  be  done  without  an 
immense  increase  of  officials,  possibly  also  of  soldiers. 
Personally,  I  still  regard  the  whole  scheme  as  impracti- 
cable.' 

To  Mr.  Bavnes. 

S.S.  '  Peace,'  August  22. 
•  If  all  goes  well,  I  hope  to  be  at  Yakusu  in  a  fort- 
night, and  to  spend  some  little  time  in  going  over  the 
district  between  Yalemba  and  that  place,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Stapleton.  The  year  will  have  nearly  run  out, 
if  not  quite,  before  I  return  down  river.  What  a  joy  it 
would  be  for  me  if  in  the  meantime  news  should  come 
enabling  a  commencement  to  be  made  at  Yalemba ! 
The  teachers  I  have  placed  there  are  more  than  a 
hundred  miles  from  Yakusu,  and  need  more  oversight 
than  we  are  able  to  give  them.  The  people,  too,  are 
clamouring  for  a  missionary.' 


526         Balked  by  the  State 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

S.S.  '  Peace,'  Yakusu,  September  lo. 

'  I  arrived  here  on  the  3rd  inst.,  having  spent  a  couple 
of  days  at  Yalemba,  where  the  young  men  I  left  in  charge 
have  built  a  good  clay- walled  house,  50  feet  by  16,  and 
have  nearly  finished  a  store  of  equal  size.  School  work 
is  being  regularly  maintained,  but  the  register  of  attend- 
ances is  not  what  I  hoped  it  might  be.  Services  in  the 
town  are  also  maintained ;  at  the  one  at  which  I  was 
present  I  counted  a  hundred  youths  between  six  and 
sixteen,  and  some  two  hundred  others.  My  helpers  at 
this  place  have  visited  the  neighbouring  district,  and 
have  found  many  more  villages  than  we  expected  to 
find,  and  a  population  much  in  excess  of  previous 
estimates,  scattered  in  the  forest,  a  few  miles  from  the 
river-bank. 

*  Here  at  Yakusu,  also,  further  knowledge  of  the 
country  is  proving  that  our  estimates  as  to  villages  and 
people  were  below  the  mark.  I  refer  to  this,  that  you 
may  not  be  disheartened  by  the  reports  concerning  up- 
river  prospects  generally.  If  you  had  regarded  similar 
reports  a  few  years  ago,  there  would  have  been  no 
Yakusu  Station  to-day,  and  the  history  of  our  Society 
would  have  been  minus  one  of  its  most  remarkable 
chapters.  God's  Spirit  is  very  manifestly  working  among 
the  people.  We  are  all  compelled  to  allow  it  is  not 
our  doing,  but  God's. 

•AH  being  well,  on  the  13th  Mr.  Stapleton  and 
myself  start  for  a  three  weeks'  voyage  among  the  out- 
posts on  the  river-banks,  dependent  upon  this  Station. 
I  came  upon  the  first  of  them  seventy  miles  down 
stream  ;  quite  a  crowd  of  young  people  stood  on  the 
river  side,  and  welcomed  us  by  singing  a  translation  of 
"There  is   a   Happy  Land."     At  Irundo,   up  a  long, 


After  Twenty  Years         527 

narrow  side  channel  which   I  visited  just  twenty  years 
ago  (a  place  which  I  do  not  think  has  since  been  visited 
by  a  missionary),  I  found  a  young   man  with  a  book 
given  him  by  our  Yalemba  teacher  (Yalemba  is  some 
twenty-five  miles  away),  trying  to  teach  the  people  to 
read.     It  was  from  Irundo  that  Mantu  Parkinson's  wife 
was  stolen  by  the  Arabs  when  she  was  a  girl,  some  few 
months  before  my  first  visit.     The  people  were  much 
interested  to  hear  of  Aku,  who  is  well  remembered  by 
some  of  her  family,  as  they  also  were  to  hear  of  my 
having  been  there  so  long  ago,  and  of  the  "Peace" 
having  loaded  up  with  a  heavy  cargo  of  fuel,  in   the 
shape  of  charred  posts  of  their  houses  left  standing  after 
the  Arab  raid.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

S.S. '  Peace,'  Lomami  River,  October  i. 

'I  am  now  on  my  way  to  the  main  river,  after  a 
fortnight's  run  up  the  Lomami,  the  big  affluent  from  the 
south  which  joins   the   Congo   about  midway  between 
Yalemba  and  Yakusu.     It  is  just  twenty  years  since  I 
previously  ascended  this  tributary  stream  ;  ^  and  then  I 
turned  back,  after  making  my  way  against  its  exception- 
ally strong  current  for  something  more  than  two  hundred 
miles.     As  the  Lomami  falls  in  Mr.  Stapleton's  district, 
he  has  joined  me  for  this  journey,  that  he  might  learn 
something  of  its  possibilities  as  a  field  for  mission  work  ; 
and  also  that  we  might  together  visit  some  twenty  of  the 
thirty  out-stations  attached  to  Yakusu  which  lie  on  the 
banks  of  the  main  river. 

'  We  hoped  this  time  to  reach  the  limit  of  navigation, 

»  In  a  letter  to  Miss  Hawkes  of  the  same  date,  referring  to  the  visit  of 
twenty  years  before  Grenfell  wrote :  *  The  people  had  never  seen  a  steanier 
before,  and  were  often  hostile.  Several  times  they  attacked  us  with  flights 
of  arrows  from  their  bows,  but  we  were  always  able  to  overcome  their  fears 
and  get  into  communication,  and  buy  the  needful  food.' 


528         Balked  by  the  State 

some  eighty  miles  beyond  our  previous  "  farthest,"  but 
we  left  nearly  a  hundred  miles  of  more  or  less  open 
water  still  before  us  when  we  turned  back.  Had  there 
been  a  fairly  good  prospect  of  securing  food  for  our  crew 
on  the  way,  we  should  have  faced  the  small  rapids  that 
exist  at  this  time  of  the  year  (a  month  or  two  later  there 
will  be  plenty  of  water  everywhere)  ;  but  as  we  had  come 
across  neither  villages  nor  people  during  the  last  four 
days  of  our  journey,  there  were  no  inducements  to  push 
on  for  an  even  longer  stretch  through  equally  unpromising 
country. 

'  We  found  that  the  people  for  the  first  hundred  miles 
up  the  Lomami  speak  practically  the  same  language  as 
at  Yakusu,  so  the  Lokele  field  is  proved  to  be  even 
larger  than  we  thought.  We  also  touched  the  termini 
of  two  overland  routes  from  the  Lomami  to  the  Congo, 
and  secured  the  names  of  the  villages  en  route.  From 
the  details  given,  these  routes  should  furnish  very  pro- 
mising lines  for  overland  evangelistic  tours,  as  soon  as 
we  may  be  able  to  detail  some  one  for  this  work. 

'  At  our  turning-point  we  touched  the  terminus  of  the 
old  Arab  route,  which  runs  north-east  across  the  Lualaba 
at  Kirundu,  and  on  to  the  Upper  Aruwimi,  in  which 
neighbourhood  I  traversed  it  for  five  marches  during  the 
journey  I  made  a  couple  of  years  ago.  The  diminished 
population  of  the  Upper  Lomami  is  doubtless  due  to  the 
Arab  raiders,  who  had  it  practically  '*  all  their  own  way  " 
between  1885  and  1893.  I  am  told  there  are  more 
people  in  these  parts  than  there  appears  to  be — the 
visits  of  the  tax-gatherer  resulting  in  the  riverside 
villages  being  abandoned  for  the  less  accessible  interior. 

'  The  visits  to  the  out-stations  were  most  inspiring. 
In  many  of  the  villages  the  school  houses  were  far  and 
away  the  biggest  buildings,  and  this  entirely  at  the  cost 


Chopal  Welcomes  529 

of  the  natives  themselves.  Unfortunately,  just  now  the 
supply  of  books  and  reading  cards  is  quite  inadequate, 
and  in  many  places  four  or  five  scholars  have  to  learn 
from  one  card,  five  inches  by  three  inches,  instead  of 
having  one  apiece ;  but  we  are  taking  steps  to  remedy 
this.  These  out-stations,  to  say  nothing  of  the  pro- 
spective work  along  the  Lomami  and  among  the  thirty 
or  so  villages  that  have  sent  deputations  requesting 
teachers,  and  where,  in  some  cases,  schools  have  been 
built  in  anticipation,  could  keep  a  steamer  and 
missionary  well  employed  in  going  to  and  fro  and 
looking  after  them. 

'  We  were  again  much  impressed  as  to  the  need  for 
better-trained  teachers,  but  did  not  succeed  in  evolving 
any  scheme  for  producing  them  that  we  could  at  present 
recommend  to  the  consideration  of  the  Committee. 
Possibly  half  the  further  applications  for  teachers  may 
be  met  by  the  end  of  the  year,  but  to  find  thirty  seems 
to  be  impossible.' 

Writing  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Lewis,  of  Birmingham, 
from  Yalemba,  on  October  ii,  in  reference  to  the 
voyage  described  in  the  letter  to  Mr.  Baynes,  Grenfell 
says,  '  At  several  of  the  landing-places  we  were 
welcomed  by  the  assembled  "choir"  of  scholars  with 
their  teacher,  singing  translations  of  "  Around  the 
throne,"  "Crown  Him  Lord  of  all,"  and  other  well-known 
hymns.  The  singing,  as  singing,  was  often  very  poor, 
but  there  was  no  doubting  the  heartiness  with  which 
they  sang.  Even  before  the  engines  had  stopped,  and 
while  we  were  still  some  distance  off,  the  strains  reached 
us.  Remembering,  what  I  could  remember,  about  these 
places,  one  is  not  inclined  to  criticize  the  singing.  For 
myself,  my  heart  was  too  full,  and  I  had  to  join  in. 

'  Some  of  these  places  I  had  seen  in  the  possession 

2  M 


530         Balked  by  the  State 

of  the  Arab  raiders,  some  of  them  I  had  seen  still 
smoking  after  the  raiders  had  done  their  worst,  and 
burned  them  out.  In  all  of  them  wickedness  and 
cruelty  had  had  a  long,  long  reign,  and  the  people  had 
suffered  many  sorrows.  But  now,  surely,  was  the 
beginning  of  better  days,  for  was  not  this  the  begin- 
ning of  the  rising  of  the  "  Sun  of  Righteousness,  with 
Healing  in  His  wings " }  God  has  indeed  been  good 
to  me,  to  let  me  see  the  dawn  of  such  a  day !  .  .  . 

*  In  the  midst  of  our  many  difficulties  it  is  no  small 
encouragement  to  find  things  progressing  as  they  are  in 
this  district,  and  that  without  putting  the  Society  to  any 
expense  for  either  teachers  or  buildings.  We  have 
teachers  in  one  or  two  villages  that  have  never  yet  been 
visited  by  the  missionaries,  and  among  the  waiting 
requests  for  teachers  there  are  several  more  from  places 
we  have  not  yet  reached.  It  is  not  merely  the  desire 
to  read  that  is  impelling  them,  for  many  of  the 
"deputations"  have  come  with  definitely  expressed 
anxiety  about  the  message  of  which  "  the  Book  "  tells 
them.  Many  of  them  have  somehow  come  to  realize 
that  there  are  other  things  than  those  that  can  be 
handled  and  felt,  and  that  there  is  another  world  than 
that  in  which  they  find  themselves.  We  can  only  put 
it  down  to  the  gracious  working  of  God's  Holy  Spirit 
upon  the  "Word"  which  has  been  scattered  to  places 
beyond  where  it  was  originally  sown.' 

In  the  middle  of  November  Grenfell  is  back  again 
at  his  Station,  Bolobo,  after  long  absence,  and  writes  as 
follows  to  his  colleague,  the  Rev.  J,  Howell :  '  The  Com- 
mission ^  having  sat  for  six  days,  left  on  the  I2th,  in  the 
afternoon.  I've  been  on  my  back  for  most  of  the  time, 
but  I  managed  to  be  present  twice,  and  to  make  certain 

*  King  Leopold's  Commission  of  Inquiry. 


An  Old  Bog'ey  53  ^ 

depositions.  First  of  all,  it  was  fever,  now  it  is  a 
temperature  often  below  normal  that  troubles  me. 
Yesterday  morning  it  was  a  degree  and  a  half  below  ; 
but  as  it  is  half  a  degree  nearer  normal  this  morning, 
I'm  hoping  I  have  turned  the  corner,  and  that  I  shall  feel 
equal  to  starting  for  the  Pool  on  Wednesday.  I  intend 
taking  the  "  Bristol,"  so  as  to  relieve  you  of  the  Bolobo 
loads,  and  thus  simplify  your  programme  a  bit.  I  am 
proposing  that  the  "Peace"  should  go  to  Monsembe 
early  in  January,  and  on  to  Bopoto  with  C.  J.  D.'s 
things.  But  of  that  we  will  talk  together.  .  .  .  The 
Commission  goes  to  Lukolela,  to  Ikoko,  Bolenge, 
Lolanga,  and  then  to  Monsembe.' 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt  (in  England). 

S.S.  '  Peace,'  Kinshasa,  November  22. 

'  The  apologists  for  the  State  must  be  very  hard  up 

for  arguments,  when  they  trot  out  that  old  bogey  of  the 

trading  missionary !     I've  heard  nothing  of  it  out  here 

since  our  previous  correspondence  on  this  topic. 

'The  Commission  stayed  a  week  at  Bolobo,  and 
went  forward  on  the  12th,  evidently  much  impressed  by 
the  evidence  submitted.  Scrivener  and  his  witnesses  are 
likely  to  be  called  to  Boma  in  January,  when  Malo- 
Malo  is  to  be  tried.  Lake  Mantumba,  Lulongo  River, 
Monsembe  and  on  beyond  was  the  programme  before 
the  Commissioners  when  they  left  Bolobo.  .  .  . 

'  I'm  much  concerned  to  note  the  serious  deficit  of 
Baptist  Missionary  Society  revenue,  and  sincerely  hope 
that  matters  may  soon  be  mended.' 

To  Mr.  Baynes.  t,  ,  u     t^        u     < 

Bolobo,  December  0. 

'  It  is  very  significant  that  the  way  should  be  opened 

for   English   Roman    Catholics,  and   closed   against  us. 

Evangelical  Christianity  does  not  breed  the  dumb  cattle 

beloved  of  officialdom  ! ' 


532         Balked  by  the  State 

To  Mr.  Baynes. 

Bolobo,  December  30. 

'  I  am  sending  you  no  report  for  the  past  year,  for, 
so  far  as  my  own  special  purposes  are  concerned,  I  can 
chronicle  no  progress.  L  am  still  waiting,  as  you  know, 
for  the  much-desired  permission  to  instal  at  Yalemba  or 
to  go  forward.  .  .  . 

'December  of  last  year  and  January  of  this  were 
mainly  spent  on  the  Kwango  and  Kasai  rivers.  May 
was  devoted,  in  company  with  Mr.  Harry  Stonelake,  to 
a  visit  to  the  Ngiri,  and  the  country  to  the  west  of 
Monsembe,  and  between  three  and  four  months  have 
been  given  up  to  a  journey  to  Yakusu,  and,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Stapleton,  to  visiting  the  Lomami.  However,  if 
I  have  been  deeply  disappointed  at  my  own  failure  to  go 
forward,^  I  have  been  greatly  rejoiced  by  the  evidences 
of  real  progress  at  Yakusu,  Bopoto,  Lukolela  and 
Bolobo. 

'  In  case  you  have  not  yet  received  the  good  news 
from  Lukolela,  I  enclose  Mr.  Whitehead's  last  letter. 
During  the  Ngiri  journey  to  which  I  have  referred  I 
called  twice  at  the  place  on  the  Mubangi  we  are  now 
occupying  as  an  out-station.  Mbuma,  whom  Mr.  White- 
head has  placed  there  as  a  teacher,  was  a  little  boy  of 
about  ten  when  as  pilot's  boy  he  joined  the  crew  of  the 
"  Peace  "  on  her  first  journey  up  river,  more  than  twenty 
years  ago.' 

^  Owing  to  the  action  of  the  State. 


CHAPTER   XXII 
TO   YALEMBA  AT   LAST! 

Resignation  of  Mr.  Baynes— Grenfell's  Affection  for  him — With- 
drawal from  Monsembe— Visit  to  Out-Stations—'  Keeping 
School'— Feuds  at  Yalemba— Unrest  among  the  People — 
Misrepresentations — Conference  at  Kinshasa — Dr.  Bentley's 
Death— Grenfell's  Protest  against  the  State— A  Heavy  Load 
for  the  '  Peace  '—The  '  Endeavour  '—Wreck  of  the  '  Roi  des 
Beiges' — Health  of  Missionaries. 

THE  year  1905  opened  gloomily  for  Grenfell.  The 
deadlock  in  the  matter  of  sites  continued. 
Obviously  the  State  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Missions 
were  conspiring  to  make  things  difficult  for  him  and 
for  his  cause.  About  this  time  he  quotes  the  interesting 
language  of  a  Jesuit  missionary,  who  in  a  magazine 
article  incites  the  State  to  send  all  Protestant  missionaries 
'  out  of  the  country.' 

His  health  is  not  vigorous,  and  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Lawson  Forfeitt,  dated  January  18,  referring  to  the  trials 
of  the  last  year  or  two,  he  says :  '  That  I  have  been 
downhearted  at  times  and  much  discouraged  is  only 
natural,  and  you  won't  be  surprised  to  know  that  as  well 
as  suffering  in  spirit  I  have  suffered  in  body  also,  though 
I  have  not  said  much  about  it.' 

Another  matter  weighed  upon  him.  As  far  back  as 
February,  1904,  news  had  come  to  him  that  the  re- 
signation of  Mr.  Baynes  was  impending,  news  which 
he  wrote,  '  fills  me  with  great  apprehension.     Who  knows 


534         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

Congo  affairs  as  he  does  ?  or  who  else  can  so  steer  us 
through  the  present  crisis  ? '  At  this  time,  indeed,  these 
two  men  bore  each  other's  burdens  with  the  painfulness 
of  true  affection.  Mr.  Baynes's  letters  to  Grenfell  are 
charged  with  sympathy,  which  Grenfell  reciprocated  to  the 
full ;  and  as  the  year  wore  on  it  was  gall  and  bitterness 
to  him  to  know  that  one  whom  he  regarded  as  his 
honoured  and  beloved  '  chief,'  should  have  been  treated  by 
the  authorities  in  Brussels  with  signal  discourtesy,  letter 
after  letter  remaining  unanswered  and  unacknowledged. 

Meanwhile,  though  Yalemba  was  calling  him  with 
mystic  iteration,  he  '  did  the  next  thing,'  according  to 
his  favourite  motto.  In  February  he  started  with  Mr. 
Scrivener  upon  a  tour  of  the  out-stations  in  the  Bolobo 
district,  and  enjoyed  *  a  good  time,  the  inland  posts 
being  especially  promising,'  Nor  was  he  always 
depressed.  Though  *  the  clouds,  instead  of  dispersing, 
are  thickening,  they  will  break  up  some  day,  and  I  am 
not  at  all  despairing  about  the  final  outcome.  Between 
the  clouds  are  narrow  rifts,  through  which  I  get  gracious 
glimpses  of  the  coming  Kingdom  of  our  God,  which 
convince  me  more  and  more  that  all  will  be  well  in  the 
end.'  These  words  were  written  during  a  journey  in 
April,  undertaken  that  he  might  bring  the  Rev.  J.  H. 
Weeks  down  river  from  Monsembe,  on  his  way  to 
Wathen,  the  population  of  Monsembe  being  so  reduced 
by  State  evils  and  other  causes  that  the  missionaries 
were  withdrawn,  and  the  station  left  to  the  care  of  native 
teachers. 

As  the  year  approaches  its  prime  the  mystic  call  of 
Yalemba  becomes  irresistible.  In  the  middle  of  June 
Grenfell  is  too  busy  fitting  the  '  Peace '  for  a  long 
up-river  journey  to  write  much  to  his  friends.  On 
June  24  he  is  still  '  hanging  on  at  Bolobo,'  waiting,  if 


[Plioto  :  Rev.  Win.  Forfeitt 
RIVER  BANK,   YALEMBA,   UPPER  CONGO. 


YALEMBA:  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  GRENFELL'S  LAST  STATION.   1906, 
Photo  ;  Rer\  .Jolin  Howell. 


A  Big  Fit  of  'the  Blues'    535 

haply  the  way  may  be  cleared,  but  determined  to  go  in 
any  case.  And  a  few  days  later  he  started,  making  a 
deliberate  progress  toward  the  goal  of  his  desire,  visiting 
all  the  intervening  stations  and  out-stations,  and  hoping 
ever  that  news  would  overtake  him  of  an  open  door  at 
Yalemba.  The  story  of  his  voyage  and  of  the  realization 
of  his  hope  is  told  graphically  in  the  following  letter 
to  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis,  dated  s.s.  'Peace,'  Yalemba, 
October  i,  1905. 

'  I  have  just  received  the  news  I  have  been  waiting 
for  so  long — that  our  Society  has  at  last  secured 
a  lease  for  this  place,  and  that  we  are  free  to  go 
on  building,  with  a  view  to  establishing  our  long- 
proposed  station  !  I  tell  you  I've  had  one  of  the  longest 
and  biggest  fits  of  "  the  blues "  over  this  business  that 
I've  ever  had,  but  I  trust  I'm  through  it,  and  in  the 
strength  of  this  trust  I'm  beginning  the  pile  of  long- 
neglected  letters  that  ought  to  have  been  seen  to  "  ages  " 
ago,  but  which  till  now  I  have  not  had  the  heart  to 
touch  ;  and  I'm  beginning  with  yours. 

*  It  is  now  three  months  since  I  left  Bolobo,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  two  spells  of  seven  days  each  at  this 
place,  the  whole  of  the  time  has  been  spent  in  the 
journey  up  river,  in  visiting  the  various  outposts  along 
the  line,  and  in  turning  aside  here  and  there  where 
needful,  to  visit  those  not  directly  on  my  route.  Alto- 
gether we  have  now  over  a  hundred  and  twenty  of  these 
out-schools,  of  varying  importance  and  promise ;  but  I 
have  not  been  able  as  yet  to  visit  more  than  some 
seventy  of  them,  though  I  am  hoping  to  increase 
the  number  before  I  return. 

*  It  has  been  a  truly  wonderful  development  of  our 
work,  and  one  for  which  we  are  but  ill  prepared  in  the 
way   of  trained   teachers  ;    but   the   demand   from   the 


536        To  Yalemba  at  Last 

people  to  be  taught  has  been  so  urgent  that  we  have 
been  compelled  to  send  out  such  as  we  had,  rather  than 
wait  for  their  being  more  fully  equipped.  In  more  than 
eighty  cases  the  school  houses  have  been  built  by  the 
people,  and  the  teachers  are  being  maintained  by  our 
native  Churches.  In  several  cases  our  hands  have  been 
forced  by  the  people,  for  they  have  built  the  school 
houses,  and  appointed  teachers  of  their  own  from  among 
those  who  had  learned  a  little  more  than  those  who 
know  absolutely  nothing,  at  one  or  other  of  our  schools. 

'  Of  course,  with  such  a  work  going  on,  I  ought  to 
have  kept  a  glad  heart,  and  never  got  into  "  the  blues  " 
at  all ;  but  you  know  how  my  heart  has  been  set  on 
going  forward,  and  what  a  weary  time  of  waiting  I  have 
had.  I  fear  that  I've  been  terribly  ungrateful  about  it, 
for,  so  long  as  my  own  pet  project  did  not  move  towards 
accomplishment,  it  now  seems  to  me  as  though  I  had 
been  more  or  less  in  the  sulks.  Well,  it  is  one  more  to 
be  added  to  the  terribly  long  list  of  failures,  for  which  I 
pray  to  be  forgiven. 

'  However,  I  have  not  been  under  the  clouds  all  the 
time,  for  bright  gleams  have  broken  through  again  and 
again  ;  had  it  not  been  so,  I  must  have  given  up  in 
despair.  I  shall  never  forget  one  evening,  a  few  weeks 
ago,  as  we  were  looking  for  a  good  camping-place  among 
the  reed-covered  sandbanks,  about  half-way  between  this 
and  Yakusu.  There  was  a  threatening  sunset,  and  we 
sought  a  shelter  from  what  promised  to  be  the  stormy 
quarter.  Then  suddenly  we  heard  strike  up  "All  hail 
the  power  "  (Miles  Lane),  from  on  board  one  of  the  big 
fishing  canoes  among  the  reeds.  We  had  not  observ^ed 
the  canoe,  but  the  crew  had  recognized  the  "  Peace,"  and 
gave  us  what  to  me  was  a  glorious  welcome  which  will 
long  remain  a   blessed    memory!     We   anchored   right 


Keeping:  School  Afloat      537 

there,  and  found  that  the  boys  on  board  this  canoe  and 
several  others  (they  sleep  out  in  these  canoes  for  weeks 
together  at  the  fishing  season)  had  brought  their  lesson- 
books  with  them,  and  were  "  keeping  school "  in  the 
fishing  fleet,  and  teaching  the  hymns  they  had  learned 
ashore  to  their  comrades  afloat.  Whose  heart  would  not 
be  moved  to  hear  "  Crown  Him  Lord  of  all "  under  such 
circumstances  ? 

'  It  was  just  about  this  same  place  that,  twenty-one 
years  ago,  we  came  first  into  view  of  the  burning  villages 
of  the  big  Arab  slave-raid  of  1884.  I  little  thought  to 
live  to  see  so  blessed  a  change,  and  my  heart  went  forth 
in  praise !  Yes,  God's  Kingdom  is  surely  coming  ;  day 
by  day  the  progress  is  not  very  apparent,  but  to  me 
there  is  no  fact  more  certain  in  the  whole  realm  of 
Truth.  The  astounding  thing  about  it  is,  that  God  is 
able  to  make  use  of  such  poor  tools ! 

*  Well,  having  received  the  permission  to  establish 
here  at  Yalemba,  it  is  now  for  us  to  decide  as  to  the 
"  next  thing."  It  seems  pretty  clear  that  this  will  be  a 
journey  to  Bolobo  for  additional  stores  to  proceed  with 
the  installation,  and  also  to  put  the  "  Peace  "  on  the  slip 
for  repairs.  This  latter  project  means  going  down  river 
before  the  present  month  is  out,  or  it  may  be  we  shall 
be  caught  by  the  low  water,  as  we  were  last  season,  and 
again  prevented  from  making  repairs  that  become 
increasingly  important  as  time  goes  by.  This  is  an 
essential,  from  the  point  of  view  of  securing  the  needful 
*'  forward "  supplies  ;  but  is  even  more  important,  in 
view  of  the  need  for  visiting  our  outposts  in  a  systematic 
and  persistent  manner.  I  suppose  it  is  not  necessary  for 
me  to  point  out  that  our  poorly-trained  teachers — many 
of  them  without  any  training  at  all,  and  placed  anywhere 
up  to  a  hundred  miles  away  from  their  main  station — will 


538         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

call  for  a  lot  of  looking  after,  if  we  are  to  avoid  difficulties 
that  can  easily  become  embarrassing  for  ourselves  and 
our  work. 

'  Just  now  this  part  of  the  country  is  more  or  less  in 
a  state  of  unrest ;  the  taxes  have  been  greatly  reduced, 
and  the  people  in  several  places  hereabouts  are  expending 
their  energies  on  their  own  private  feuds.  In  the  village 
just  opposite  three  or  four  men  have  been  killed  during 
the  past  month,  and  here  at  Yalemba  last  week  I  had  to 
interfere,  to  prevent  things  becoming  really  too  serious  ; 
as  it  was,  there  was  lots  of  blood  flowing,  and  one  man 
seriously  hurt.  I  got  in  between  the  rival  factions,  but 
my  poor  shouting  was  simply  nowhere  when  they  got  a 
"  howl "  on,  and  I  had  to  resort  to  a  piece  of  bamboo  I 
had  in  my  hand  for  making  an  impression.  They  got  it 
both  sides  indiscriminately  when  the  lines  closed  up  for 
another  charge.  They  were  over  a  hundred  of  them, 
many  of  them  with  no  other  covering  than  their  shields, 
and  armed  to  the  teeth  with  knives,  spears,  bows  and 
arrows,  and  all  the  savage  panoply  of  the  real  old-time 
scrimmage — paint  and  feathers  galore.  They  must  have 
felt  very  ridiculous  standing  there,  being  licked  with  a 
stick  by  a  little  old  white  man.  There  was  "glory"  in 
it  when  they  could  get  up  close  to  one  another  and  draw 
blood ;  but  this  was  altogether  too  tame,  and  so  they 
drew  off,  and  let  their  tempers  down.  The  next  morning 
they  allowed  I  had  done  well  to  give  them  the  stick, 
"  for,"  said  they,  "  if  you  had  not  interfered,  somebody 
would  have  died."  These  folk  are  not  fools — only  a 
very  wild  species  of  "  wild  Irishman."  ^ 

'  Grenfell  was  of  good  courage,  but  like  otlier  brave  nien  confessed  to 
moments  of  trepidation.  While  staying  at  Underbill,  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Mission,  he  sustained  a  fright,  creepy  and  lung-drawn  out,  which 
remained  with  him  in  vivid  memory.      Lying  in  a  canvas  camp-bed  at 


White  Men  Killed  539 

'  (Just  at  this  point  I  am  pulled  up  by  an  incident  that 
will  stop  my  letter  till  I  know  how  it  ends— for  the  canoe 
I  sent  off  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ago  with  a  letter  for  my 
wife  has  capsized,  and  I  can  see  with  my  glass  the  crew 
of  five  struggling  in  the  water  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
away,  as  I  sit  at  my  table.  The  boat  has  gone  off  to 
the  rescue.  Half  an  hour  later— \t  is  all  right,  boys  are 
safely  back,  so  also  is  the  letter — it's  the  fourth  vain 
effort  I've  made  to  get  it  off — such  is  Congo !) 

*I  began  to  tell  you  about  the  unrest  among  the 
people,  but  had  not  got  so  far  as  the  most  serious  item— 
that  of  the  killing  of  two  white  men  at  a  rubber  factory, 
about  sixty  miles  away.  Though  it  took  place  three 
weeks  ago,  absolutely  no  details  have  transpired,  beyond 
the  fact  that  the  natives  sacked  the  store,  killed  the 
soldiers  (twenty-five),  and  took  their  guns,  after  they  had 
killed  the  white  men.  The  judge  passed  up  a  week  ago 
to  visit  the  scene,  and  was  followed  a  few  hours  later  by 
a  small  military  force  of  a  score  or  so.  But  if  the  natives 
have  got  hold  of  the  ammunition  as  well  as  the  guns 
(and  it  is  so  reported),  I  expect  more  serious  measures 
will  have  to  be  taken. 

*The  white  men  may  or  may  not  have  brought  it 
upon  themselves ;  these  are  not  the  people  to  be 
"squeezed,"  I  am  quite  sure,  and  if  the  agents  have 
been  mad  enough  to  resort  to  measures  of  which  we  have 
heard  in  other  parts,  they  must  have  been  lacking  in 
ordinary  foresight,  to  say  the  least  of  it ! 

*I  note  the  report  of  the  Belgian   Commission  of 

night,  he  was  wakened  by  an  uncanny,  intermittent,  upward  pressure, 
accompanied  by  a  hissing  sound,  which  suggested  that  a  big  snake  was 
astir  beneath  him.  He  stealthily  groped  for  the  match-box,  which  was 
missing.  Not  daring  to  rise  in  the  dark,  he  lay  in  a  cold  sweat  till  day- 
break. Then  facing  the  peril,  he  discovered,  with  emotion  which  can 
easily  be  imagined,  that  his  dread  disturber  was  an  old  duck. 


540         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

Inquiry  was  promised  for  August,  Naturally,  we  are 
all  wondering  what  sort  of  impression  it  will  make.  If 
all  the  depositions  are  published,  it  will  create  an 
immense  sensation — that  is,  if  folk  take  the  trouble  to 
read  it.  A  few  who  are  specially  interested  will  do  so, 
without  doubt ;  but  what  does  the  bulk  of  the  people 
care  for  Congo .? 

*  My  latest  news  of  Carrie  was  that  she  had  arrived 
in  England ;  but  I've  no  direct  news  since  June,  when 
she  wrote  of  her  intention  to  get  back  to  the  old  country 
during  the  coming  month.  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt  met  her 
at  Oxford,  at  the  dedication  service  of  the  "  Endeavour  ; " 
he  tells  me  she  was  much  better.' 

At  the  end  of  August  Mr.  Baynes  wrote  the  following 
letter,  which  Grenfell  would  receive  upon  his  return  to 
Bolobo,  and  which  would  give  him  no  little  joy:  *  My  dear 
brother,  how  I  wish  I  had  time  to  write  you  a  long  letter  ! 
There  are  fifty  subjects  I  should  be  glad  to  discuss  with 
you  ;  and  to  have  a  shake  of  your  hand,  and  one  of  your 
old  grips  would  do  me  an  incalculable  amount  of  good. 

*  You  will  have  heard  before  this  of  the  interview  that 
our  brother  Lawson  Forfeitt  had  with  the  authorities  in 
Brussels,  and  of  the  sanction  he  obtained  for  going  on 
with  our  work,  at  any  rate,  at  the  one  new  station  of 
Yalemba.  Under  these  circumstances  I  feel  it  is  clearly 
our  duty  to  establish  our  work  openly  on  that  spot ;  and 
it  is  with  regard  to  this  that  I  wish  to  write  you  officially.' 

After  suggestions  for  the  permanent  occupation  of 
Yalemba  the  letter  continues — 

'  I  am  thankful  to  report  to  you  that  your  daughters 
are  spending  the  vacation  at  Brighton  in  the  home  of 
Miss  Hare,  a  sister  of  the  Lady  Principal  of  the  Seven- 
oaks  Girls  Mission  School.  Carrie  is  certainly  better, 
and  I  have  a  very  strong  hope  that  she  may  still  be  able 


A  Fpiend's  Appreciation     541 

to  devote  herself  to  mission  work  on  the  Congo.  I  was 
thankful  to  find  her  so  bright,  and  to  hear  from  her  that 
her  stay  at  Brighton  is  not  only  doing  her  good,  but  her 
sisters  also.  I  need  not  tell  you  what  a  rare  pleasure 
it  has  been  to  me  to  render  her  any  trifling  help  within 
my  power.  My  reverence  and  affection  for  you  would 
make  any  assistance  to  her  a  great  delight. 

'  We  here  in  England  are  all  waiting  for  the  publica- 
tion of  the  report  of  the  Congo  Commissioners.  When 
it  will  come  out,  what  will  be  its  nature,  and  what  its 
conclusions,  are  questions  of  infinite  importance,  and 
will  lead,  I  am  quite  sure,  to  very  definite  and  decided 
action  on  the  part  of  our  Committee.  I  long  for  the 
dawn  of  a  complete  change  of  policy.  I  am  sure  there 
is  a  grand  future  in  store  for  the  Congo  State,  if  a 
righteous,  humane  and  far-seeing  Government  policy 
can  be  initiated.  It  will  come  some  day,  perhaps  not 
in  my  time  ;  but  it  is  a  great  country  of  almost  infinite 
possibilities,  and  under  righteous  Government  it  will 
have  a  future  second  to  none. 

'You  have  devoted  your  noble  life  to  the  truest 
interest  of  this  great  continent,  and  you  will  have  the 
lasting  satisfaction  of  having  endured  untold  hardships, 
cruel  and  most  unjust  misrepresentations  ;  but  through  it 
all  you  have  maintained  a  character  that  will  stand  the 
most  minute  investigation,  and  you  have  made  a  noble 
self-sacrifice  which  will  find  its  highest  satisfaction  in 
the  Hereafter,  with  the  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant." ' 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

S.S.  *  Peace,'  near  Lukolela,  October  T]\ 

*  I  met  the  Governor-General  at  Monsembe,  and  had 

a  very  disagreeable  time  with  him  ;  he  said  I  had  behaved 

worse  than  any  of  the  other  Protestant  missionaries,  and 


542         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

was  very  angry.  I'm  exceedingly  sorry  things  have 
turned  out  as  they  have,  for  the  Mission's  sake  rather 
than  my  own.  The  unofficial  report  of  what  I  said 
before  the  Commission  is  largely  responsible  for  it,  for 
the  words  I  used,  as  I  tried  to  point  out  to  the  Governor, 
are  not  nearly  so  offensive,  and  that  in  fact  I  did  not 
intend  them  to  be  in  any  way  offensive.  However,  I 
can't  go  back  on  what  I  said,  and  what  I  signed  to  in 
my  declaration.  My  words  were,  "  I  had  been  proud  to 
wear  the  decorations  his  Majesty  had  conferred  upon  me, 
but  that  now  I  was  no  longer  proud  so  to  do."  I  spoke 
strongly,  no  doubt,  but  I  felt  strongly.  I  was  asked  by 
the  Commissioners  to  speak  freely,  and  as  I  was  before 
a  Royal  Commission  I  felt  myself  free  to  do  so ;  but,  if 
I  had  realized  the  possibility  of  being  mis-reported  I 
certainly  should  have  said  nothing  about  decorations 
at  all.' 

To  THE  Rev.  William  Forfeitt. 

Bolobo,  November  26. 

'  You   will   have    heard   of    my   interview  with   the 

Governor- General.     I  felt  very  bad  about  it  at  first,  but 

it  has  worn  off,  and  I've  become  indifferent  to  a  degree 

as  to  his  attitude — though  I  expect  I  shall  have  to  pay 

for  it.     I  see,  by  a  decree  just  recently  published,  that  no 

new  buildings  may  be  erected,  nor  alterations  made  to 

existing  ones,  without  first  having  obtained  permission. 

This  places  new  possibilities   for   hindering  us   in  the 

hands  of  the  State,  though  I  am  hoping  it  is  mainly 

intended  for  the  lower  river.' 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

Bolobo,  December  20. 

'  I  have  received  the  report.^     It  can  hardly  satisfy 

those  who  are  dissatisfied,  even  though  their  dissatisfaction 

'  Report  of  King  Leopold's  Commission  of  Inquiry. 


Very  Cleverly  Done  543 

is  of  the  mildest  type.  Even  friends  and  supporters 
of  the  State  regime  (if  they  read  it)  will  be  made 
uneasy.  It  is  very  cleverly  done,  and  well  calculated  to 
make  it  easy  for  those  in  power  to  introduce  changes, 
without  passing  sentences  that  are  too  severe  upon  them- 
selves. The  question  now  is  as  to  what  the  new  Com- 
mission will  do  to  mend  matters.  The  fact  that  Jannsen, 
the  President,  is  on  it  is  a  very  hopeful  sign.  I'm  still 
looking  to  financial  pressure  as  the  most  promising  and 
potent  factor  of  the  future.  .  .  . 

*  I  am  glad  to  tell  you  that  I'm  feeling  much  better 
than  when  I  wrote  last,  and  am  much  more  sanguine 
about  getting  down  to  the  Conference  and  Committee. 
At  one  time  I  began  to  feel  very  uncertain  as  to  the 
prospect.  I'm  very  sorry  I  have  not  been  able  to  go  to 
Thysville  to  meet  you  ;  it  would  have  been  not  only 
helpful,  but  would  have  been  a  great  pleasure  for  me. 
I  fear  my  attendances  at  Conference  gatherings  will  not 
be  so  regular  as  they  might  be  ;  that  is,  if  I  can  only  get 
hold  of  you  to  play  truant  with  me,  that  we  may  make 
up  for  the  lost  opportunity  upon  which  we  counted.' 

To  THE  Rev.  William  Forfeitt. 

Bolobo,  December  22. 

'  We  are  all  very  sorry  there  is  no  chance  of  your 
being  at  the  Committee  meeting  ;  with  Lukolela,  Upoto, 
and  Yakusu  unrepresented,  it  will  be  but  a  "  lop-sided  " 
affair!  I  believe  all  the  other  stations  will  be  repre- 
sented. I  shall  be  hoping  to  make  a  start  for  Yalemba 
once  more  before  January  is  out ;  but  as  we  shall  be 
heavily  laden  with  the  '*  Bristol "  in  tow,  we  shall  be 
"  making  "  a  very  leisurely  progress. 

*  Here  at  Bolobo  we  are  in  great  straits  for  "  chop  " 
for  our  people.  Our  lazy  neighbours  have  been  neglecting 
their  plantations,  and  the  consequence  is  they  have  not 


544         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

enough  for  themselves,  much  less  for  the  State.  The 
kwanga  tax  is  only  being  got  together  with  great 
difficulty,  and  in  miserably  small  driblets. 

*  Christmas  and  the  New  Year  will  have  passed  before 
you  get  this,  but  this  will  tell  you  that  we  are  not  for- 
getting to  wish  you  every  good.  My  wife  joins  with  me 
in  so  doing.  May  1906  mark  even  greater  progress 
than  this  year,  which  has  brought  you  so  much  to  be 
thankful  for  in  the  matter  of  the  work  !  Your  latest  news 
is  full  of  encouragement  for  us  all.' 

Grenfell  duly  attended  the  Conference  at  Kinshasa. 
On  the  second  day  tidings  reached  him  which  perceptibly 
loosened  his  moorings  in  this  world,  and  intensified  his 
anticipations  of  the  life  beyond.  The  Conference  opened 
on  Tuesday  evening,  January  9.  On  Thursday  at  noon 
Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt  arrived  from  Matadi.  Not  expected 
by  that  train,  he  made  his  way  immediately  to  Grenfell's 
temporary  home,  took  him  out  into  a  quiet  place,  and  there 
told  him  the  heavy  news  of  Bentley's  death.  How  much 
this  meant  to  Grenfell,  it  is  difficult  to  realize.  The  two 
men  were  greatly  different  in  gifts  and  temperament. 
During  most  of  their  missionary  life  they  lived  apart.  But 
they  were  meriy  with  manhood  tremendously  accentuated. 
They  were  utterly  consecrated  to  their  common  cause. 
They  were  sure  of  each  other's  unfaltering  fidelity ;  the 
bonds  of  their  affection  were  those  iron  bonds  which  are 
wrought  into  infrangibility  by  the  shocks  of  long  conflict 
endured  in  gallant  comradeship. 

Grenfell's  grief  was  in  no  small  measure  shared  by 
the  whole  Conference.  A  memorial  service  was  held  on 
the  Sunday,  at  which  he  gave  the  following  address  : 
*  I  am  quite  sure  that  in  standing  here  as  I  do  this 
morning,  I  have  the  sincere  sympathy  of  you  all.     You 


GRENFELL'S    FAITHFUL   ATTENDANTS    AT   YALEMBA   AND  BASOKO. 
Representing  five  different  tribes. 
Plioto  :   Rev.  J.  Howell. 
Baluti.  Mawangu.  Luvusu.  Nwanambila. 

(Basoku.)  \Bopoto.)  [Ba-Congo.)  (Bangala.) 

Ndala. 
(Bobangi) 


B.M.S.     MISSIONARIES 


AT     THE     GENERAL      MISSIONARY     CONFERENCE. 
KINSHASA,    JAN.,    1906. 


Bentley  has  Gone  545 

do  not  need  to  be  told  that  to  one  who  had  already  lost 
so  many  loving,  helpful  colleagues  the  news  of  the  death 
of  Dr.  Bentley  is  nothing  less  than  a  staggering  blow, 

'  It  only  intensifies  what  has  long  been  a  mystery  to 
me  ;  for  why  should  I  have  been  spared,  while  so  many 
younger  and  better  qualified,  and  stronger  men,  have 
been  stricken  by  the  angel  of  death  ?  And  now  Bentley 
has  gone ! 

'  In  one's  early  life  those  "  on  the  other  side "  who 
stand  beckoning  are  comparatively  few  ;  but  one  by  one 
loved  friends  and  fellow-workers  cross  the  narrow  sea 
and  join  their  ranks.  In  my  own  case  this  has  gone  on 
till  now  the  majority  of  those  who  have  been  dear  to  me, 
and  of  those  with  whom  I  have  been  privileged  to  work 
in  unity  of  heart  and  purpose,  have  passed  on  before, 
and  have  made  the  other  side  to  become  the  "home- 
land "  of  my  poor  human  heart,  as  well  as  the  real  home- 
land where  my  Lord  and  Saviour  dwells ! 

*To  us  who  live  the  more  or  less  solitary  lives  of 
missionaries  in  heathen  lands,  the  gaps  that  are  made  by 
death  mean  much  more  than  they  do  to  those  who  live 
in  the  more  serried  ranks  of  the  old  country.  There,  in 
many  cases,  the  gaps  are  soon  filled  up  by  new  associates 
or  fresh  interests.  To  us  out  here  they  persist ;  and 
after  awhile — say  after  a  life  like  mine — one  drops  into 
a  loneliness  that  at  times  brings  a  great  sadness,  but 
which  is  not  without  its  compensations,  in  that  it  allows 
of  a  closer  communion  with  God,  and  leads  to  a  more 
complete  dependence  upon  the  Divine. 

'There  are  several  of  us  here  who  can  count  more 
years  than  Bentley  could,  and  this  sad  news  which  has 
reached  us  comes  as  a  very  emphatic  warning  to  us  to 
be  also  ready,  as  well  as  an  incentive  to  apply  ourselves 
more  diligently  to  redeeming  the   time   that   of  God's 

2  N 


546         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

mercy  still  remains  to  us.  In  my  own  case  it  constitutes 
a  warning  I  cannot  help  taking  most  seriously  to  heart. 

'  At  home,  twenty-five  years'  service  would  be  counted 
as  nothing  remarkable  ;  but  those  of  us  who  have  seen 
how  our  brother  worked  know  that  many  of  his  single 
years  should  count  as  two,  and  we  shall  reckon  ourselves 
happy  if  we  can  accomplish  half  as  much  in  equal  time. 
He  was  not  only  endowed  with  great  natural  ability,  but 
with  an  extraordinary  capacity  for  work.  He  could  see 
so  quickly  the  right  thing  to  be  done,  and  could  in  so 
many  cases  do  it  so  readily,  that  it  was  not  always  easy 
to  work  in  harness  with  him.  However,  a  more  devoted 
servant  to  his  Master,  or  a  truer-hearted  and  more 
affectionate  fellow-worker  it  has  never  been  my  privilege 
to  know. 

*  The  son  of  one  of  the  best  Hebrew  scholars  of  his 
day,  he  was  clever  enough  to  be  his  father's  pride,  even 
in  matters  linguistic  ;  and  the  son  of  a  large-hearted 
woman,  whose  motherly  heart  I  rejoice  to  know  found  a 
corner  for  my  poor  self,  he  inherited  an  affectionate  nature, 
which  was  the  solace  of  both  his  parents,  and  which 
bound  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-workers  to  his  own  with 
cords  that  will  never  be  broken  while  memory  lasts. 

'  Yesterday  I  received  a  letter  from  him,  written  less 
than  four  weeks  ago :  a  letter  full  of  enthusiastic  plans 
for  the  future,  full  of  the  optimism  which  was  so  markedly 
the  characteristic  of  the  man,  and  which  had  helped  him 
blessedly  in  many  a  tight  place.  I  read  it,  filled  with  the 
thought  that  my  friend  and  brother  had  already  gone 
hence,  and  that  the  projects,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned, 
had  all  been  ruthlessly  cut  short  by  the  strong  hand  of 
Death,  and  my  heart  was  heavier  and  more  sad  than  I 
can  say. 

'  Was  I  sad  on  his  account  ?     Not  for  a  moment !     I 


Broken  Hopes  547 

was  sorry  for  his  poor  wife,  sorry  for  his  dear  children, 
sorry  for  our  poor  selves,  who  have  lost  so  good,  so  brave 
a  comrade  in  arms.  I  make  bold  to  say  that  if  only  our 
individual  selves  were  concerned,  there  are  not  a  few  of 
us  who  would  count  it  a  blessed  thing  to  be  standing  at 
his  side  before  the  face  of  the  Master. 

« "  A  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,"  he  has  departed  to 
be  with  his  Lord,  which  is  "  very  far  better." 

« He  has  "  fought  the  good  fight,"  he  has  "  finished 
his  course,"  he  has  "kept  the  faith"  and  made  good  his 
claims  to  the  crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord  hath 
laid  up  for  those  who  love  His  appearing.' 

During    the    Conference    a    strong    resolution    was 
passed,   denouncing    the    mis-rule    of    the    State,    and 
on  this  subject  Grenfell  made  a  pronouncement  which 
appears  in  the  published  report.     He  said:  '  Dr.  Leslie 
[American  Baptist  Missionary  Union]  met  with  opposi- 
tion   from   the    natives,    and   overcame   all    difficulties. 
I  have  met  it  from  the  State,  that  "  great  philanthropic 
agency  of  Central  Africa,"  and   have   been   effectually 
barred.    When  I  first  came  to  Congo  there  was  no  civilized 
power ;  the  traders  were  a  law  unto  themselves ;  and  I 
had  seen  the  evils  of  this  at  the  Cameroons.     There  was 
then  not  a  single  missionary  of  the  Cross  in  the  land.     I 
hailed  the  advent  of  a  European  power.     I  rejoiced  in 
the  prospect  of  better  times.     I  saw  the  fall  of  the  Arabs  ; 
I  saw  the  door  closed  against  strong  drink,  and  when  his 
Majesty  bestowed  his  decorations  upon  me  I  was  proud 
to  wear  them.     But  when  the  change  of  regime  came, 
from  philanthropy  to  self-seeking  of  the  basest  and  most 
cruel  kind,  I  was  no  longer  proud  of  the  decorations. 

'We  are  serving  a  great  Master.     We  are  on   the 
winning    side.      Victory    is    not    uncertain.      Truth    is 


548         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

strong,   and   must   prevail.     We   are   checked,   but   not 

disheartened.* 

The  meetings  of  the  Conference  were  followed  by 

those  of  the  Local  Committee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 

Society,  at  the  close  of  which  Grenfell  returned  to  Bolobo, 

to  prepare  for  yet  another  voyage  up  river.     And  on  this 

voyage,  as  Luvusu   wrote,  who   accompanied   him,  '  he 

went  up  to  die.' 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

Bolobo,  February  12,  1906. 

*  I  am  glad  to  get  the  news  about  the  lease,  and  of 
its  being  under  way.  The  main  stipulations  I  quite 
accept,  and  I  am  hoping  the  minor  ones  that  I  gather 
are  to  be  included,  will  be  such  as  we  shall  deem  reason- 
able. One  is  sorry  to  have  "doubts"  about  such  matters 
and  to  be  anxious  about  seeing  it  all  "in  black  and 
white,"  but  I  must  confess  I  shall  look  eagerly  for  your 
copy  of  all  the  conditions. 

*  Thanks  for  the  news  of  the  reception  of  your  note 
re  Bentley's  death  by  the  Governor. 

*  I  have  not  yet  traced  the  origin  of  the  five  shillings 
charged  in  1899 — have  commenced  making  a  thorough 
overhaul  of  my  papers,  and  am  keeping  my  eye  on  this, 
as  well  as  the  other  and  more  important  points  I  am 
hunting  up.' 

To  Miss  Hawkes. 

S.S. '  Peace,'  Upper  Congo,  March  15. 

'After  my  long  silence  I  did  not  at  all  deserve  to 
have  such  an  early  reply  to  my  last  letter.  It  reached 
us  just  as  we  were  leaving  Bolobo,  and  we  were  very 
glad  to  hear  from  your  good  self  (as  we  always  are),  and 
I  was  especially  glad  to  find  you  were  not  going  to  pay 
me  back  in  "  my  own  coin." 

'  The  "  we  "  who  left  Bolobo  a  week  ago  consisted  of 


The  Poop  Old  'Peace'       549 

Patience,  Mr.  Clark,  and  myself.     Patience  left  us  on  the 
morning  of  the  fourth  day,  or  rather  we  left  her,  for  she 
was  going  to  stay  a  few  days  at  our  Bumbende  out-station, 
and  then  visit  the  three  other  outposts  lying  between 
that  place  and  Bolobo,  on  her  way  back  in  the  boat, 
which   we   towed    up   for   that  purpose.      These   three 
outposts  are  in  charge  of  three  of  our  old  steamer  boys, 
and  we  consequently  feel  especially  interested,  and  like 
to  keep  in  touch  with  them.     Two  other  POsts  are  in 
charge  of  our  old  boys ;  but  Patience  won't  reach  them 
this   time.     Last   year   I   visited  them  all.  but  I  shall 
hardly  do  it  this.     They  all  come  in  to  Bolobo  every  two 
or  three  months,  so  they  are  in  no  way  cut  off.     Besides, 
Mr.  Scrivener  makes  a  point  of  seeing  them  from  time 
to  time  on  his  itinerating  journey. 

« When  we  started  it  looked  as  though  the  poor  old 
"Peace"  would  not  be  able  to  make  headway  against 
the  stream,  for  Bolobo  is  just  at  a  point  where  the  Congo 
narrows  itself  into  a  sort  of  bottle-neck,  where  the  current 
is  very  strong.     Three  or  four  miles  above  our  sta  ion 
the  river  is  six  or  seven  miles  wide,  and   immediately 
below  it  is  equally  wide,  while  at  the  <'  bottle-neck     it  is 
less  than  two.     Not  only  had  we  the  strong  current  to 
ace,  but  we  had  an  exceptionally  heavy  load,  in  the 
shape  of  three  boats  and  three  canoes  to  tow  alongside. 
There  was  the  "  Bristol,"  with  doors  and  windows  locks 
bolts  and  bars,  nails  and  screws,  and  all  the  odds  and 
ends    required    for    building    the    new   station,   to   say 
nothing   of  the   brass   wire  and  bales  of  cotton  goods, 
to  buy  food  and  pay  wages  of  workpeople  ;  altogether 
about  seven  tons.      Then  we  had  the  station  boat  in 
which  Patience  was  to  return,  with  its  load  of  tent  and 
camping  gear,  and  its  paddles  and  paddlers;  the  other 
boat  was  filled  with  firewood,  for  the  "  Peace     is  too  full 


550         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

to  allow  of  more  than  a  few  hours'  wood  being  put 
on  board. 

'  Happily,  we  are  not  dragging  so  heavily  now,  for 
the  station  boat  is  on  its  way  back,  and  only  one  of  the 
three  canoes  remains  with  us.  This  we  keep  with  us  all 
the  way,  and  each  night,  as  soon  as  we  reach  camp  and 
"  tie  up,"  we  start  it  off  with  three  or  four  of  the  crew  to 
catch  fish  for  those  on  board  the  steamer.  If  we  did  not 
help  ourselves  in  this  way,  we  should  have  to  fare  very 
hardly  at  times,  for  fresh  food  is  sometimes  not  to  be 
bought  for  a  week  together. 

'  Yesterday  I  said  "  good-bye "  to  Mr.  Clark  at 
Lukolela  ;  he  went  ashore  there,  and  will  stay  till  the 
*'  Goodwill "  comes  down  and  furnishes  him  with  an 
opportunity  for  getting  back  to  Bolobo.  Mr.  Howell  is 
on  the  "  Goodwill "  this  journey,  and  is  hurrying  back, 
so  as  to  help  with  work  on  the  "  Endeavour."  A  captain 
of  one  of  the  steamers  that  has  just  come  up  from  the 
Pool  told  me  a  couple  of  days  ago  that  he  saw  the  hull 
of  the  "  Endeavour  "  on  the  beach  at  Kinshasa,  apparently 
almost  ready  for  launching,  and  the  boilers  were  in 
readiness  for  being  put  on  board.  The  "  Endeavour " 
will  be  launched  as  soon  as  the  carcase  is  riveted  up,  and 
all  the  engines,  cabins,  and  upper  structure  put  on  board 
and  finished  when  she  is  afloat.  At  this  rate  she  may 
perhaps  be  ready  earlier  than  was  expected.  When  I 
was  at  the  Pool  in  January,  the  idea  was  that  she  might 
be  ready  for  the  October  journey  to  Yalemba  and 
Yakusu.  I  am  very  much  interested  in  the  progress  of 
the  new  steamer,  for  if  she  realizes  our  expectations  I 
shall  be  relieved  of  all  responsibility  for  the  transport  of 
cargo  for  our  "  forward "  work,  as  she  will  deliver  all 
I  shall  need  at  Yalemba.  This  will  mean  more  in  the 
way  of  help  for  my  poor  self  than  for  any  other  member 


A  River  Trag-edy  551 

of  the  Mission,  and  you  can  understand  how  interested 
I  am  in  her  success.  Our  steamers,  so  far,  have  been 
"  screw-boats  " ;  the  "  Endeavour  "  is  a  "  stern-wheeler," 
a  new  departure  for  us,  and  with  more  or  less  of  the 
unknown  about  her. 

*  So  far,  I  must  confess  I  have  been  prejudiced  against 
stern-wheelers  ;  but  I  shall  only  be  too  delighted  if  our 
new  boat  is  a  brilliant  success,  and  dissipates  all  my 
prejudices.  Stern-wheelers  are  very  apt  to  be  top- 
heavy,  especially  the  smaller  ones ;  but  I  am  hoping 
the  "  Endeavour "  will  be  altogether  beyond  the  class 
of  risky  ones. 

*  On  my  way  up  river  this  time  I  got  the  details  of 
the  capsizing  of  the  steamer  "  Roi  des  Beiges  "  which  was 
lost  on  the  Kasai  River  a  few  weeks  ago.  It  seems  that 
as  she  was  turning  round  a  sharp  corner,  the  current 
acting  in  one  direction  and  the  rudders  in  another,  she 
just  turned  over,  without  giving  any  notice  at  all.  An 
Italian  doctor,  whom  I  knew  very  well,  and  another 
official,  were  in  the  cabin  at  the  time,  and  the  pressure 
of  water  against  the  door  prevented  them  from  making 
any  attempt  to  escape  by  swimming.  The  captain  and 
engineer  and  two  others  found  themselves  in  the  water, 
but  were  able  to  scramble  to  the  bottom  of  the  boat, 
which  was  now  out  of  the  water,  and  on  this  they  spent 
the  whole  of  the  night — it  was  just  before  sunset  the 
disaster  occurred. 

'  The  following  morning  they  found  the  steamer, 
upside  down  as  she  was,  was  drifting  close  enough  to 
an  island  to  induce  them  to  swim  for  it ;  but  one  of  the 
four  succumbed.  It  was  indeed  in  a  pitiable  plight  that 
the  three  swimmers  landed  ;  they  had  scarcely  anything 
in  the  way  of  clothes  to  protect  them  from  sun  and  flies, 
and  absolutely  nothing  to  stay  the  pangs  of  hunger. 


552         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

'  After  a  few  hours,  one  of  the  three,  a  good  swimmer, 
made  up  his  mind  to  try  to  get  to  the  mainland,  and 
then  to  make  his  way  to  one  of  the  State  posts,  some  few 
miles  below  ;  but  he  had  hardly  got  more  than  thirty 
yards  when  with  a  great  shout  he  threw  up  his  hands 
and  disappeared — taken  by  a  crocodile  ! 

'  The  remaining  two  endured  all  the  miseries  of  their 
position  for  two  more  days  and  two  more  nights  before 
they  were  taken  off  by  a  passing  boat.  If  they  recover 
from  the  shock  and  from  the  strain  to  which  they  have 
been  subjected  they  may  count  themselves  fortunate. 
Experienced  traveller  as  I  am,  I  think  three  such  nights 
would  be  my  death.  (I  know  the  place  very  well ;  it  is 
only  a  hundred  miles  or  so  from  Bolobo.)  However,  the 
"  Roi  des  Beiges  "  is  a  small  steamer  by  the  side  of  the 
"  Endeavour,"  and  I  don't  think  it  is  at  all  possible  that 
our  larger  one  can  behave  in  the  same  way ;  still,  it  is 
excusable  for  me  perhaps  to  be  anxious  for  her  to  go 
through  her  trial  trips,  and  prove  herself  the  trustworthy 
craft  we  hope  she  is.  The  designer  of  the  "  Shamrocks  " 
(Lipton's  American  racing  boats)  passed  the  plans,  and 
no  one  understood  such  matters  better  than  he.  You 
see,  on  the  Thames,  at  Oxford,  there  was  not  water 
enough  to  allow  of  her  being  properly  tried. 

'  I  suppose  I  ought  to  have  kept  my  nervous  notions 
to  myself,  and  I  certainly  did  not  intend  to  write  about 
them.  I  should  not  at  all  like  the  idea  to  get  about  that 
I  am  anxious.  I  wrote  to  the  Committee  before  the 
builders  began  upon  her ;  and  this  was  the  reason  they 
called  in  the  famous  designer,  and  decided  to  spend  an 
extra  ;iCiooo  on  making  her  wider  and  more  steady,  so  I 
really  ought  not  to  be  in  any  way  afraid  ;  but,  all  the 
same,  I  want  to  see  her  well  through  the  testing  she  will 
have  when  she  runs  her  trial  trips  on  the  Congo. 


The  'Endeavour'  Arrives    553 

'  The  "  Endeavour "  reached  the  Pool  while  I  was 
down  there  in  January  ;  the  loads  filled  eight  trucks,  and 
were  delivered  at  our  siding,  about  a  hundred  yards  from 
the  beach  and  about  sixty  feet  above  the  water-line. 
They  will  almost  have  slipped  down  into  position  of 
themselves,  when  once  our  people  had  put  them  on  the 
rough  tram-line  they  laid  down,  to  connect  the  railway 
siding  with  the  work-sheds  on  the  beach.  How  different 
from  our  labour  with  the  "  Peace  "  and  with  the  "  Good- 
will "  !  when  everything  had  to  be  carried  on  men's  heads 
up  hill  and  down  dale  for  more  than  two  hundred  miles 
through  the  cataract  region !  You  will  easily  under- 
stand that  it  was  no  small  satisfaction  for  me  to  see  the 
"  Endeavour  "  arrive,  after  having  waited  so  long.  From 
those  portions  that  were  open  to  view,  I  judge  that  both 
material  and  workmanship  are  of  the  best,  and  if  the 
design  is  only  as  good,  the  "  Endeavour  "  will  be  a  great 
success. 

'  I  happened  to  be  down  at  the  Pool,  to  meet  the 
other  members  of  our  Committee  for  our  annual  meet- 
ing. As  Chairman  I  had  to  make  an  effort  to  be  there, 
though  I  could  ill  spare  the  time.  The  General  Con- 
ference of  Congo  Missionaries  was  timed  for  a  few  days 
earlier ;  so  altogether  we  made  up  quite  a  gathering, 
fifty-three  all  told.  .  .  . 

' "  Our  old  friend  Dingulu "  is  the  only  man  left  of 
those  who  settled  the  question  as  to  whether  or  not  we 
should  be  allowed  to  have  a  piece  of  land  at  Bolobo ; 
and  but  for  him  it  would  have  been  refused.  As  it  was, 
we  only  got  a  small  plot  just  a  little  more  than  was 
necessary  for  our  tent.  Bit  by  bit,  however,  we  have 
been  able  to  get  more,  till  now  we  have  a  piece  three 
hundred  yards  long  by  two  hundred  yards  wide  ;  none 
too   much,   when    one    considers    our   dwelling-houses, 


554         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

school,  hospital,  workshops,  printing  office,  boys'  houses, 
and  so  on.  It  is  not  too  much,  that  is,  if  we  are  to  have 
breathing-space  between  our  buildings,  and  here  in  the 
tropics  we  want  lots  of  breathing-space.  .  .  . 

'You  will  have  observed,  perhaps,  the  statement  in 
the  Herald  about  Mr.  Oldrieve  taking  a  bioscope  out 
to  the  Congo,  so  as  to  secure  a  series  of  "  living  pictures  " 
for  exhibition  at  home.  This  instrument  has  been  passed 
on  to  me  for  the  Upper  Congo  pictures,  and  is  then  to  be 
sent  to  China  and  India.  I  fear  that  really  interesting 
pictures  which  could  be  shown  at  a  missionary  meeting  at 
home  are  not  very  plentiful.  I've  taken  a  few  at  Bolobo, 
and  hope  they  will  turn  out  all  right. 

*  Since  writing  the  foregoing  I  have  been  into  Lake 
Mantumba,  to  visit  the  American  Baptist  Mission  there  ; 
and  there  I  heard  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Rankin,  of  the 
C.B.M.  Mr.  Ellery,  of  the  same  Mission,  died  just 
three  months  ago ;  both  leave  widows.  Mr.  Rankin 
had  only  been  married  a  fortnight.  Mr.  Ruskin,  also 
of  the  same  Mission,  is  on  his  way  home  to  England, 
having  been  called  thither  on  account  of  the  serious 
condition  of  his  wife,  who  went  home  some  months  ago 
with  all  the  symptoms  of  "  sleeping  sickness."  Mrs. 
Morgan,  you  may  remember,  after  suffering  for  some 
time,  apparently  recovered  while  in  England  some  two 
years  ago ;  but  she  has  been  ill  again,  and  left  last 
month  in  the  "  Leopoldville,"  to  be  wrecked  on  the 
island  of  St.  Thomas,  if  the  report  that  has  just  reached 
us  is  true.  The  Camerons  (Baptist  Missionary  Society) 
as  well  as  Morgans  were  present  at  the  Conference,  and 
like  them  got  the  doctor's  orders  to  go  home.  We  are 
very  much  afraid  Mrs.  Weeks  may  also  be  ordered 
home.  Mrs.  Cameron  was  very  well ;  it  is  Mr.  Cameron 
whose  health  failed.    Sutton  Smith,  at  Yakusu,  has  been 


Grave  Reflections  555 

suffering  very  severely  from  fever,  and  though  he  soon 
pulls  himself  together  after  a  spell  of  high  temperature 
(he  went  up  to  I05'8  just  before  last  news  left),  we  can't 
let  him  go  on  indefinitely  facing  the  risk  involved,  unless 
the  attacks  become  fewer  and  less  severe. 

'You  refer  to  Bentley's  death.  The  news  reached 
me  when  I  was  down  at  the  Pool,  and  it  was  indeed  a 
shock.  Bentley's  death  and  Mr.  Baynes'  leaving  the 
Mission  House  weigh  me  down  with  a  loneliness  that 
makes  me  very,  very  sad  at  heart.  Without  my  best 
friend  and  nearest  colleague  on  the  field,  and  without 
the  Secretary  at  home  with  whom  I  have  had  such  long 
and  intimate  correspondence,  things  will  be  very  different 
for  me  in  the  days  that  come.  I  find  there  are  only 
some  four  or  five  Baptist  Missionary  Society  missionaries 
in  active  service  whose  appointments  date  earlier  than 
mine — a  fact  that  naturally  makes  one  think  very 
seriously. 

*  I  don't  grieve  for  Bentley ;  his  was  a  blessedly  full 
life,  and  he  has  well  earned  his  rest  and  his  crown.  I'm 
sorry  for  his  wife  and  children.  They,  poor  things,  will 
feel  the  blow  far  more  keenly  than  his  nearest  friends. 
His  last  letter  to  me  was  written  just  a  week  before  he 
died,  though  it  did  not  arrive  till  some  days  after  the 
telegram  announcing  his  death.  I  read  it,  therefore, 
almost  as  a  message  from  the  dead.  He  was  as  full  of 
hopes  and  plans  as  ever,  and  evidently  had  no  thought 
of  being  so  near  the  end  of  his  programme.  I  learn 
there  was  no  idea  of  his  being  seriously  ill  till  some 
hours  before  his  death. 

*  I  have  just  had  a  talk  with  an  American  traveller 
who  came  across  from  the  East  Coast  through  Uganda, 
and  who  spent  Christmas  at  Yakusu.  He  tells  me  he 
has  seen  absolutely  nothing  in  the  way  of  cruel  treatment 


556         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

of  the  natives.  However,  like  myself,  he  feels  sure  that 
in  certain  places  the  agents  engaged  in  collecting  rubber 
have  been  guilty  of  the  grossest  outrages.  I  only  wish 
we  could  believe  they  had  come  to  an  end.  From  what 
one  hears,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  same  regime  is 
still  being  enforced,  though  in  parts  of  the  country  less 
under  observation. 

'  We  have  been  buoyed  up  with  the  hope  that  Belgium 
herself  would  take  steps  to  put  the  matter  right ;  but  so 
far  nothing  appears  to  have  come  of  all  the  pressure  that 
has  been  exercised  upon  the  State — except  this,  perhaps, 
to  confirm  the  decision  of  those  in  power  to  prevent  the 
settlement  of  Protestant  missionaries  at  points  farther  in 
the  interior.  However,  we  must  not,  because  it  threatens 
to  upset  our  plans  for  the  future,  fail  in  testifying  against 
the  wrongs  committed  upon  the  people  ;  better  renounce 
them  altogether  than  neglect  so  palpable  a  duty. 

*  If  we  cannot  occupy  new  places  at  the  front,  we 
must  make  the  most  of  those  we  occupy  already.  In  the 
midst  of  our  troubles  we  have  much  to  be  thankful  for, 
in  that  God's  face  shines  upon  us  as  it  does.  The  last 
Sunday  I  was  at  Bolobo  we  had  a  baptismal  service,  and 
added  three  to  the  number  of  our  Church  members  ;  and 
I  hear  that  the  number  of  out-schools  round  Bolobo  has 
increased  to  forty-three,  and  the  Yakusu  schools  to  over 
a  hundred.  We  have,  indeed,  cause  to  thank  God  and 
to  take  courage !  * 

''-  To  Mr.  Hawkes. 

S.S.  *  Peace,'  near  Monsembc,  March  22. 
'  Being  once  more  out  of  the  rush  of  Bolobo  and  the 
Pool,  I  am  trying  to  overtake  some  of  my  arrears  in  the 
matter  of  letter-writing.  My  boys  know  the  run  so  well 
that  I  can  leave  things  very  largely  to  their  care,  though 
naturally  I  have  to  keep  my  eye  on  them.     I'm  down  in 


LAST   PHOTOGRAPH   OF   GREXFELL,   at  Bopoto.      S.S.  'Peace'  at  anchor. 
Photo  :  Rev.  Win.  Forfeitt. 


GRENFELL    ITINERATING   AMONG   VILLAGE    SCHOOLS,   UPPER   CONGO. 


Two  Quiet  Congo  Men       557 

the  cabin,  which,  as  you  remember,  perhaps,  has  windows 
all  round,  commanding  a  full  view  of  the  river,  and  so 
have  only  to  lift  my  head  from  time  to  time  to  see  how 
we  are  getting  on.  I've  one  boy  at  the  lead  in  the  bow, 
and  he  "looks  out"  for  snags,  as  well  as  shouts  the 
soundings.  Then  there  is  the  "  man  at  the  wheel "  (up 
till  a  couple  of  years  ago  a  cannibal  from  some  fifty 
miles  beyond  Yalemba),  who  naturally  looks  out  as  well 
as  steers.  Besides  these  there  is  always  an  "  officer  "  on 
deck,  whose  post  is  close  to  the  wheel  and  the  signals 
for  the  engine-room.  So  you  see  I  have  so  systematized 
things  as  to  ease  myself  of  a  good  deal  of  the  pressure 
of  the  earlier  days. 

'  I  may  say  that  our  wheelman  is  brother  of  one  of 
the  engineers  who  came  to  us  nearly  twenty  years  ago 
as  quite  a  little  boy,  having  been  rescued  from  the  Arabs, 
and  placed  in  our  care  by  Sir  Francis  de  Winton.  It  is 
only  since  I  have  been  out  this  time  that  our  engineer 
found  his  people,  and  got  his  brother  to  join  him.  These 
two  are  among  the  quietest  Congo  folk  I  know ;  in  fact, 
I  may  say  they  are  very  much  quieter  than  any  others 
I  know,  and  one  scarcely  hears  their  voices  from  week's 
end  to  week's  end — ordinarily  our  people  are  all  too 
voluble,  much  too  voluble.  The  elder  is  a  very  con- 
sistent member  of  our  Bolobo  Church  ;  but  I've  never 
known  him  take  part  in  any  service  beyond  singing. 
Most  of  our  members,  women  as  well  as  men,  have  no 
hesitation  in  getting  up  and  speaking,  and  some  of  them 
do  it  wonderfully  well,  considering  how  little  they  know. 
Did  you  find  your  West  Indians  so  generally  ready  to 
"  testify  "  .?  To  talk  in  public  seems  to  come  as  natural 
to  our  people  as  swimming  does  to  ducks.  (It  has  its 
compensations !)  .  .  . 

'Very  naturally,  the  opposition  of  the  State  to  any 


55S         To  Yalemba  at  Last 

extension  of  Protestant  mission  work  bulked  very  con- 
siderably in  our  deliberations  at  the  Conference.  I  must 
confess  I  see  no  immediate  prospect  of  a  change  for  the 
better. 

'  Yesterday,  upon  calling  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lulongo 
(at  the  C.B.M.  station),  I  learned  that  while  travelling  in 
the  A.B.I.R.  concession  two  of  the  Balolo  missionaries 
received  a  letter  from  one  of  the  rubber  agents,  in  charge 
of  a  post  some  three  hours  distant,  asking  by  whose 
permission  they  were  travelling  in  that  district,  and 
practically  ordering  them  off.  This  letter,  and  certain 
interesting  and  important  correspondence,  is  now  on  its 
way  to  England  by  a  returning  missionary,  and  I  imagine 
should  result  in  our  understanding  more  clearly  than  we 
do  the  value  of  the  treaty  rights,  which,  so  far,  have 
availed  us  little. 

'  Some  of  our  younger  men  are  in  favour  of  going  to 
a  place,  and  simply  sitting  down  and  waiting  to  see  how 
far  the  Government  would  go  in  the  way  of  forcing  them 
off.  By  a  recent  enactment  of  the  Governor,  one  is 
prohibited  from  staying  more  than  a  fortnight  in  any 
place  where  he  has  no  title  to  the  land,  or  where  he  is  not 
the  guest  of  some  one  who  has  a  title.' 

To  THE  Rev.  C.  E.  Wilson,  B.A.,  Secretary  Baptist 
Missionary  Society. 

S.S.  '  Peace,'  Upoto,  April  7. 
'The  mails  that  left  England  on  February  21  have 
followed  me  up  river,  and  overtook  me  at  this  place 
yesterday.  They  brought  me  a  letter  from  Mr.  Baynes, 
indicating  that  in  future  I  was  to  address  yourself  as  the 
Secretary  of  our  Society.  It  is  no  light  matter  to  me 
after  a  long  and  intimate  correspondence  with  Mr. 
Baynes,  to  find  that  it  has  reached  its  limit,  and  that 
it  has  to  be  counted  among  the  things  of  the  past.     I 


Schemes  for  Advance       559 

cannot  expect  that  my  years  will  allow  my  corre- 
spondence with  yourself  to  cover  anything  like  the  same 
period  of  time  ;  but  I  shall  count  myself  a  happy 
man  if  you  can  afford  me  anything  like  the  same 
consideration  I  enjoyed  at  his  hands  so  long  as  it 
lasts. 

*  As  Secretary  of  such  an  organization  as  the  Baptist 
Missionary  Society,  you  won't  have  time  for  long  letters  ; 
I  shall,  however,  do  my  best  to  keep  you  regularly 
informed  as  to  progress  of  the  work  in  hand. 

'  The  present  covers  my  reply  to  the  communication 
from  the  Committee  concerning  forward  projects,  also 
a  map,  which  I  think  will  save  me  much  writing  and 
yourself  much  time  in  trying  to  grasp  my  meaning. 

'  Praying  God  to  give  you  strength,  and  all  needed 
grace  and  patience,  and  assuring  you  of  my  sincerest 
sympathy  in  the  difficulties  of  the  position  you  have  been 
called  to  fill,  I  remain,'  etc. 

To  THE  Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt. 

S.S.  '  Peace,'  near  Bumba,  April  lo. 

'  By  this  last  mail  I  have  received  copies  of  the 
proposals  made  by  Mr.  Fullerton  and  Mr.  Stapleton 
anent  forward  work,  and  a  request  for  my  views  con- 
cerning them.  Mr.  Fullerton  seems  to  think  there  would 
be  less  difficulty  about  getting  permission  to  work  a 
post  in  State  territory  near  the  British  frontier,  if  we 
approached  it  from  the  east ;  but  I  fear  he  has  not  much 
ground  to  go  upon.  Stapleton's  proposal  is  to  work 
southwards  from  Yakusu  ;  but  this  for  the  present  is 
as  strictly  barred  as  the  Aruwimi,  I  fear.  I  say  we  must 
enter  in  at  the  first  open  door,  and  push  forward  in 
both  directions  as  opportunity  may  serve.  Mr.  Fullerton's 
idea  is  to  establish  in  the  Pygmy  forest,  but  the  Church 


560 


To  Yalemba   at  Last 


Missionary  Society  very  definitely  claimed  this  as  their 
own  sphere,  a  few  months  ago.  I'm  reminding  him,  and 
the  Committee  also,  of  this.' 

Shortly  after  writing   the    foregoing   letter   Grenfell 
arrived  at  Yalemba. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

*THE    DEATH    OF    "TATA" 
FINISHED' 

Grenfell  goes  to  Yakusu— Returns  to  Yalemba— An  Insidious  Fever 
—Progress  at  Yalemba— A  Debt  'Palaver'— Grenfell's  House 
Fired— His  Last  Illness— His  Last  Voyage— Doctor's  Devotion 
—Mr.  Millman's  Journey— 'Peace*  sent  to  meet  Mr.  Millman 
and  Consul— Mr.  Kempton's  Arrival— Hope  Abandoned— Last 
Scenes— The  Dearest  Tribute. 

GRENFELL'S  voyage  from  Bolobo  to  Yalemba 
occupied  six  weeks.  '  Time  enough,'  he  remarks 
in  a  letter  to  one  of  his  friends, '  for  you  to  have  gone 
across  the  Atlantic,  spent  a  month  in  America,  and  got 
back  again.'  But  the  poor  *  Peace '  was  heavily  laden, 
and  her  master  was  happy  in  the  thought  that  the 
coming  of  the  '  Endeavour '  would  release  her  from  such 
'tramp'  service.  Upon  arrival  he  met  Mr.  Sutton 
Smith,  who  had  just  completed  a  tour  of  inspection  of 
the  out-schools  extending  along  the  hundred  miles  of 
river-bank  between  Yakusu  and  Yalemba. 

When  the  'Peace'  had  discharged  her  cargo  of 
supplies  and  material  for  the  new  station,  Grenfell  took 
Mr.  Smith  aboard,  and  steamed  with  him  to  Yakusu, 
where  he  purposed  to  remain  for  some  little  time.  The 
magnitude  of  the  work  there  delighted  his  soul,  but 
dislocated  his  plans. 

At  the  Kinshasa  Conference  in  January  it  was 
suggested  that  a   man  should  be  spared  from  Yakusu 

2  u 


562    'Death  of  "Tata"  Finished' 

for  Yalemba.  Grenfell  wrote,  in  March,  requesting  a 
volunteer.  Mr.  Millman  replied  that  while  any  one  of 
the  stafif  would  go  to  Yalemba  if  called,  their  present 
work  was  so  absorbing,  and  so  greatly  blessed  of  God, 
that  a  volunteer  could  not  be  expected. 

Grenfell  went  up  to  give  the  '  call'  On  the  spot  his 
heart  failed  him.  He  confessed  that  he  dared  not  take 
one  of  them  away,  '  Though,'  he  said,  '  I  believe  I  could 
have  any  one  of  you,  if  I  cared  to  press  the  matter.' 
Meanwhile  he  resolved  to  wait  until  a  new  missionary 
from  England  could  join  the  stafif  at  Yakusu. 

It  was  finally  arranged  that  when  the  *  Endeavour ' 
brought  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilford  to  Yakusu,  some  two 
months  later,  Mr.  Kempton  should  go  down  to  Yalemba 
and  take  charge,  thus  permitting  Grenfell  to  attend  the 
Committee  meetings  at  Stanley  Pool  in  September. 

His  lonely  return  was  hastened  by  news  of  trouble 
which  called  for  his  presence  ;  and  on  the  morning  of 
Friday,  April  28,  he  said  *  good-bye '  to  his  friends,  and 
started  in  the  *  Peace '  for  the  voyage  of  a  hundred  miles. 
He  complained  of  a  troubled  night,  and  a  morning  head- 
ache, which  it  was  hoped  the  river-breeze  would  blow 
away.  '  I  lie  down  with  fever,'  is  the  significant  entry 
in  his  diary  for  that  day. 

For  three  days  only  of  the  remaining  nine  weeks 
of  his  life  did  that  insidious  fever  relax  its  grip. 
'  Insidious,'  because  for  long  time  it  was  low  fever  only, 
which  the  patient  declined  to  take  seriously.  Usually 
temperature  rose  no  more  than  one  or  two  degrees. 
One  day,  when  it  was  103°,  he  resolved  that  if  it 
reached  104°,  he  would  go  down  river.  But  it  dropped 
again,  and  he  held  on. 

At  Yalemba  he  went  to  bed.  But  even  on  his  back, 
with  the  fever  burning,  he  could  not  let  his  work  alone. 


YALEMBA    SCHOOL-CHAPEL. 
Photo  :  Rev.  J.  Hozcell. 


YALEMBA:    HOUSE   WHERE   GRENFELL   LIVED   PRIOR  TO   HIS   DEATH. 
Photo  :  Rev.  J  Howell. 


Complicated  Illness         563 

The  new  station  must  be  made  ready  for  the  missionaries 
when  they  came.  Baluti  and  Disasi  had  done  splendidly 
during  the  long  months  in  which  they  held  the  fort.  A 
big  riverside  clearance  had  been  made  in  the  forest, 
where  trees  grow  to  a  height  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet.  In  addition  to  the  teachers'  wattle  and  daub 
houses  of  the  first  days,  a  school  house  had  been 
finished,  and  a  carpenters'  workshed,  sixty  feet  by 
twenty,  erected.  The  two  houses  for  missionaries, 
materials  for  which  had  been  brought  from  Europe, 
had  yet  to  be  put  up,  and  the  workpeople  were  kept 
busy. 

From  his  bed  Grenfell  gave  instructions.  When  he 
could  creep  out,  with  assistance,  he  did.  His  boys  were 
distressed,  and,  made  bold  by  love,  forbade  him ;  but 
he  would  not  be  forbidden.  They  desired  to  write  to 
Yakusu  for  help,  and  he  '  scolded  them  gently.'  Once 
they  almost  succeeded  in  persuading  him  to  drop  down 
to  Upoto,  where  they  knew  he  would  have  a  restful, 
happy  time  and  be  well  cared  for  by  his  friends  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  William  Forfeitt :  almost,  but  not  quite  ! 

Early  in  May  the  fever  was  complicated  by  acute 
rheumatism  and  inflammation  of  the  throat.  The  latter 
proved  so  great  a  trouble  that  he  was  constrained  to 
make  a  single-day  journey  to  Basoko,  to  consult  Dr. 
Grossule,  who  said  that  he  would  shake  off  the  low 
fever,  and  prescribed  so  successfully  for  his  throat  that 
the  painful  ulcers  quickly  disappeared. 

During  these  days  in  which  the  cares  of  building 
operations  weighed  upon  him,  he  was  also  burdened  by 
native  concerns.  The  people  of  Yalemba  were,  as  he 
often  said,  '  a  rowdy  lot'  Physically  they  were  magni- 
ficent ;  their  mental  alertness  elicited  his  admiration  ;  he 
believed  they  would  make  grand  Christians,  when  the 


564    'Death  of  *'Tata"  Finished' 

Spirit  of  God  touched  their  hearts ;  and  for  this 
consummation  he  devoutly  yearned.  For  the  time  being, 
however,  they  were  much  given  to  palavers,  and  were 
prone  to  point  their  arguments  with  knives  and  spears. 

It  was  the  trouble  resulting  from  '  a  miserable  debt 
palaver '  which  necessitated  his  premature  return  from 
Yakusu.  Edingo,  one  of  the  mission  boys,  unmindful 
of  his  master's  counsels,  allowed  himself  to  be  mixed  up 
in  this  palaver,  took  a  side  in  the  ensuing  '  scrimmage,' 
and  was  seriously  hurt.  When  Mr.  Sutton  Smith 
reached  Yalemba,  he  found  Edingo  suffering,  but 
concluded  that  he  was  only  badly  bruised,  and  that  with 
good  nursing  he  would  recover.  When  Grenfell  came 
he  formed  the  same  opinion.  But  a  few  days  after  the 
missionaries  had  left  Yalemba  for  Yakusu,  Edingo  died. 

Baluti  immediately  wrote  requesting  Grenfell  to 
return,  placed  the  body  of  Edingo  in  a  canoe,  paddled 
down  to  Basoko,  and  laid  the  matter  before  the  judge. 
The  doctor  was  ordered  to  make  a  post-mortem 
examination,  which  revealed  broken  ribs  and  serious 
internal  injuries  sufficient  to  cause  death.  A  trial 
ensued,  and  two  men  were  convicted,  one  being 
sentenced  to  two  years'  penal  servitude,  the  other  to  a 
fortnight's  imprisonment. 

The  palaver  dragged  on,  and  Grenfell,  who  could  not, 
or  would  not,  pronounce  upon  the  rights  of  the  case 
maintained  that  it  was  a  purely  native  affair,  and  incited 
the  chiefs  themselves  to  make  a  peaceful  settlement. 
Ultimately  he  found  that  the  matter  in  dispute  was  no 
more  than  '  twenty  shillings  worth  of  brass  wire,'  and  to 
compose  the  strife  he  undertook  to  pay  the  debt  himself. 

Meanwhile  an  incident  occurred  which  might  have 
issued  tragically.  At  3.30  on  the  morning  of  May  16 
Grenfell,  who  was  'half  asleep   and    half  awake,'   was 


Gpenfeirs  House  Fired      565 

roused  by  a  shout  of  '  Fire ! '  and  observed  a  tongue  of 
flame  bickering  in  the  far  corner  of  the  roof  under  which 
he  lay.  He  was  too  ill  to  leave  his  bed  in  response  to 
the  call  of  the  boys,  who  were  amazed  by  his  absolute 
calmness.  The  fire  was  soon  extinguished,  and  no  great 
harm  was  done.  Obviously  the  mischief  was  the  work 
of  an  incendiary.  A  '  fire-stick '  had  been  thrust  into 
the  thatch  from  outside.  Grenfell  himself  was  of  opinion 
that  no  grave  outrage  was  intended.  He  thought  it  was 
a  ruse  on  the  part  of  the  '  side  '  which  Edingo  had  taken 
to  get  the  other  side  into  trouble  ;  his  reason  for  this 
mild  view  being  that  the  alarm  was  so  promptly  given. 

Baluti  took  a  grimmer  view,  and  bluntly  asserted 
that  the  dastardly  work  was  done  by  the  father  of  the 
man  who  had  lately  suffered  a  fortnight's  imprisonment. 
In  any  case  Grenfell  declined  to  lodge  a  complaint  at 
Basoko. 

About  this  time  the  fever  abated.  But  the  patient's 
battle  was  rendered  harder  by  the  poverty  of  the 
provisions  which  Yalemba  yielded.  There  was  little 
food  fit  for  an  invalid.  More  than  once  a  canoe  laden 
with  kindlier  fare  came  down  from  Yakusu,  and 
Grenfell's  gratitude  will  be  a  pleasant  memory  to  those 
who  ministered  thus  to  him  in  his  bitter  need. 

On  May  17,  the  day  following  the  fire,  he  had  finally 
concluded  that  Yalemba  was  not  a  place  in  which  a 
missionary  should  be  left  alone.  So  he  wrote  to  Mr. 
Kempton,  revoking  his  engagement  to  come  to  Yalemba. 
This  was  the  letter — 

•Yalemba,  May  17,  1906. 

'  I've  been  down  with  continuous  fever  from  the  day 
I  left  Yakusu  till  yesterday,  when  I  had  the  first  inter- 
mission. It  has  been  nothing  serious,  in  no  case  going 
beyond    103°.      Still,  my  dear  K.,  I  feel  compelled  to 


566    'Death  of  "Tata"  Finished' 

revoke  the  arrangement  concerning  which  I  was  so 
content  when  we  said  "  good-bye."  I  simply  could  not 
leave  you  at  Yalemba  by  yourself,  to  face  all  that  would 
be  involved.  It  has  been  bad  enough  for  me  at  times, 
though  with  the  steamer  standing  by  I  have  always  felt 
I  could  get  away  at  a  few  minutes'  notice,  if  the  need 
should  arise. 

'  With  yourself  it  would  be  very  different,  and  you 
would  be  practically  a  prisoner  till  help  came.  I  think 
too  much  of  your  dear  mother,  of  your  dear  sisters,  and 
of  their  dear  "  Ozzy,"  to  be  willing  any  longer  to  further 
the  plan  of  your  coming  down  here  and  holding  on  by 
yourself  If  only  some  new  man  might  be  coming  along, 
and  you  could  be  left  together,  that  would  put  my  mind 
at  rest,  but,  by  your  own  good  self.  No !  it  can't  be. 

*  I'm  in  no  trim  for  letter-writing,  but  having 
commenced  by  a  few  lines  to  my  wife,  I  felt  I  must 
get  this  matter  off  my  mind.  After  so  many  days'  fever, 
after  several  days'  acute  rheumatism  in  ankles,  knees 
and  wrists,  and  after  an  inflammation  of  the  mouth  and 
throat  that  made  even  the  taking  of  a  spoonful  of  water 
a  matter  of  severe  pain  for  two  or  three  days,  you  can 
imagine  I  am  feeling  pretty  "limp."  However,  thank 
God,  I  am  full  of  hope  as  to  being  on  the  high  way  to 
recovery,  and  am  beginning  to  take  food  again  more  or 
less  freely.  The  trouble  is  to  get  just  the  right  food. 
I  am  still  sanguine  as  to  holding  on  for  the  ''Endeavour." 

*  Commend  me  to  Millman  and  to  Sutton.  I  have 
often  thought  of  you  all  in  the  midst  of  your  big  meetings, 
and  have  prayed  God  to  give  you  gracious  times  of 
refreshing  and  help  all  round. 

'P.S. — The  Antwerp  boat,  due  to  bring  us  long- 
expected  help,  is  leaving  to-day.  God  prosper  her !  and 
especially  those  who  are  coming  to  lend  us  a  hand.' 


Suffering'  and  Faith  567 

Two  days  later  Grenfell  addressed  a  letter  to  his 
friend  Mr.  Joseph  Hawkes,  which  brought  to  a  close  a 
long,  intimate,  and  most  valued  correspondence.  It 
contained  the  following  passages,  suggestively  descrip- 
tive of  his  physical  and  spiritual  condition  : — 

'  I  am  just  pulling  myself  together  after  three  weeks 
of  continued  fever,  and  sometimes  have  a  head  on  me 
that  is  like  two  heads,  or  even  three  ;  and  that  makes 
me  feel  as  though  I  existed  on  two  or  three  different 
planes,  all  at  the  same  time.  However,  during  the  past 
day  or  two,  the  normal  is  more  and  more  asserting  itself, 
and  it  becomes  less  and  less  a  matter  of  doubt  as  to  just 
where  I  am.  .  .  . 

'  God  has  been  very  good  to  me  through  all  these 
three  weeks  on  my  back,  and  though  some  of  the  days 
have  been  dark,  and  the  consciousness  of  my  many  sins 
and  much  unworthiness  has  been  heavy  upon  me,  yet  I 
have  not  lost  the  assurance  that  it  is  of  His  grace  that  I 
am  saved.  I  am  less  confident  in  trying  to  explain  the 
Trinity,  the  Atonement,  and  Justification,  than  I  used  to 
be  ;  but  this  I  know,  better  than  ever,  that  Salvation  is 
of  Grace,  through  Christ,  and  by  faith.' 

At  the  end  of  May  Baluti  observed  with  joy  that  his 
dear  master  was  better,  '  walked  strongly,  tried  to  do  his 
work,'  and  so  encouraged  the  boys  in  theirs  that  they 
'  got  the  iron  on  the  roof  in  one  day.'  But  the  amend- 
ment was  temporary,  and  as  the  early  days  of  June 
passed  the  sick  man's  sufferings  increased,  and  he  grew 
feebler. 

Meanwhile  he  proved  himself  as  ever  an  indefatigable 
correspondent.  Between  May  5  and  June  1 1  he  wrote 
many  letters,  of  which  eighteen  lie  upon  my  table. 
Some  are  short,  and  some  are  long.  The  longest  was 
addressed  to  Mr.  Archard,  of  Bath,  as  late  as  June  7, 


568    'Death  of  "Tata'*   Finished' 

and  would  make  eight  pages  of  this  book.  The  writer 
is  very  grateful  to  Mr.  Archard  for  kindness  to  his 
children.  He  tells  the  story  of  his  recent  experiences 
in  Yalemba,  and  minutely  discusses  the  plans  of  Mr. 
Fullerton  and  Mr.  Stapleton,  to  which  reference  has  been 
made  above. 

Mission  business  is  his  chief  concern,  as  evidenced  by 
several  brief,  matter-of-fact,  but  intensely  affectionate 
notes  to  Mr.  William  Forfeitt  at  Upoto,  Mr.  Lawson 
Forfeitt  at  Matadi,  and  Mr.  Kempton  at  Yakusu.  There 
is  a  long  letter  each  for  the  Rev.  C.  E.  Wilson,  Miss 
Hawkes,  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis,  of  Birmingham,  and 
Mrs.  Rowe  (Grenfell's  sister),  at  Sancreed.  He  is 
sympathetically  interested  in  all  the  concerns  of  his 
correspondents,  especially  their  trials,  and  his  personal 
note  is  one  of  steadfast  cheer.  Of  big  things  he  thinks 
in  a  big  way ;  of  little  things  he  is  not  unmindful.  He 
hopes  the  English  election  will  settle  the  Education 
Question,  concerning  which  he  expresses  opinions  too 
sane  to  be  practicable :  he  studies  with  critical  interest 
reports  of  discussions  in  the  Belgian  Parliament :  he  has 
hunted  up  the  pot  of  mustard  which  he  failed  to  leave 
for  Mr.  Forfeitt  at  Upoto,  and  has  had  it  packed  for 
transit. 

On  June  2  he  writes  to  Miss  Hawkes :  '  Soon  after 
the  "  Endeavour "  has  passed  up  I  expect  to  start  for 
Bolobo,  and  later  to  proceed  to  the  Pool,  for  the 
September  Committee  meetings.  ... 

'  My  news  from  Bolobo  is  very  scanty,  and  from  the 
two  last  notes  I  have  had  from  Patience  I  learn  she  was 
not  well.  While  I've  been  down  with  fever  I've  had  lots 
of  quiet  times,  long  wakeful  hours,  when  my  thoughts 
have  travelled  far  and  fast.  They  have  often  been  with 
you,  and  I've  wondered  a  good  deal  as  to  how  it  might 


His  Last  Letter  569 

be  faring  with  you.  God  has  been  specially  good  to  me 
through  it  all,  and  has  shown  me  many  new  things  out 
of  His  Truth,  and  more  and  more  concerning  His 
wondrous  far-reaching  love.' 

On  June  5  he  concludes  his  letter  to  his  sister  with 
the  following  pathetic  sentences  :  '  During  the  time  I  was 
down  with  fever  and  was  so  much  on  my  back,  I  often 
used  to  think  of  the  old  place,  and  wonder  if  I  should 
ever  see  it  again.  In  the  spirit,  perhaps  I  may,  in  the 
body  it  is  hardly  likely.  A  man  at  my  age  in  Central 
Africa  is  an  old  man,  and  these  last  two  or  three  years 
have  told  on  me  a  great  deal.  However,  God  has  been 
wonderfully  good  to  me — infinitely  good,  and  I  can  wait 
the  unfoldmg  of  His  will  concerning  me  with  all 
confidence.  I  need  not  point  out  to  you,  or  to  your 
husband  either,  where  to  go  for  strength  to  bear  the 
burden  that  has  fallen  to  you.  The  good  Lord  comfort 
you  both,  and  strengthen  you  both,  and  give  you  much 
grace,  and  an  unfailing  consciousness  of  His  abiding 
presence ! ' 

His  last  letter,  never  finished,  was  addressed  to  his 
friend  Mr.  Lawson  Forfeitt,  and  dated  June  11.  He 
reports  that  the  fever  still  clings  to  him,  but  that  he  is 
better,  though  miserable  for  about  half  his  time.  '  In 
between  the  spells  I  get  up  and  worry  round,  trying  to 
put  things  into  shape  a  bit.'  Discussion  of  various  items 
of  Mission  business  follows.  And  in  the  final  sentences 
the  writer  congratulates  his  friend  upon  having  success- 
fully carried  through  certain  negotiations  in  the  interest 
of  the  Mission. 

During  the  ensuing  week  the  sufferer's  symptoms 
worsened,  and  his  attendants  grew  desperate.  Baluti 
records  that  on  Saturday  the  i6th  'the  agony  began 
truly.'     It  was  a  long  agony.     On  Sunday  the   17th  a 


570    *  Death  of  "Tata"  Finished' 

letter,  misdated  19th,  and  given  here  in  facsimile,  was 
secretly  despatched  to  Yakusu. 


On  Monday  the  dying  hero  surrendered.  Dreaded 
hsematuric  symptoms  appeared;  his  pain  was  unendur- 
able, and  he  consented  to  be  taken  down  to  Basoko. 


CONGO    STATE    STATION,    BASOKO,  WHERE    GRENFEI.L    IS    BURIED. 
Photo:  Rev.  Win.  Forfeitt. 


[Photo;   Rev.  Win.  Forfeitt. 
GRENFELL'S    GRAVE    AT    BASOKO. 


His  Last  Voyag-e  571 

Even  then  there  remained  a  duty  to  be  performed 
before  embarking.  The  names  of  the  work-people  must 
be  registered  for  the  State.  Luvusu  wrote  down  all  the 
names  with  swift  obedience.  Grenfell  sat  up  in  bed  and 
examined  the  list ;  and  this  being  finished,  he  was  laid 
in  the  cabin  of  his  much-loved  little  steamer  for  his  last 
short  voyage. 

On  this  voyage  Mawango  took  charge  of  the  steamer, 
and  Baluti  remained  by  his  master's  side.  As  they 
neared  Basoko  darkness  fell,  and  with  his  natural  and 
perhaps  undue  concern  for  others,  the  patient  said : 
*  When  we  reach  Basoko,  do  not  call  the  doctor  by  night.' 
Happily,  Baluti  was  spared  the  pain  of  obeying  or 
disobeying  this  difficult  command,  for  the  doctor,  who 
had  heard  of  the  trouble,  was  on  the  beach.  He 
immediately  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  facts  of 
the  case,  and  commenced  a  gallant  but  unavailing  fight 
with  death.  His  devotion  could  not  have  been  surpassed. 
He  did  all  that  skill  could  suggest  or  kindness  execute. 
He  visited  his  patient  three  or  four  times  a  day,  and 
often  remained  long.  On  the  day  following  arrival 
Grenfell  was  taken  ashore  from  the  cramped  cabin  of  the 
'  Peace,'  and  comfortably  housed.  Two  days  later  his 
indomitable  energy  asserted  itself,  and  he  made  arrange- 
ments for  the  meeting  of  Mr.  Millman.  Here  a  brief 
digression  is  called  for. 

Towards  the  end  of  May  the  British  Consul,  being  at 
Yakusu,  desired  Mr.  Millman  to  make  a  journey  with 
him  to  the  Nile  ;  but  the  missionary  could  not  be  spared 
from  his  station  so  long  a  time  as  this  journey  would 
require.  It  was  afterwards  arranged  that  they  should 
travel  a  hundred  miles  north  of  Yakusu,  strike  the 
Aruwimi  at  Yambuya,  drop  down  the  river  to  Basoko, 
and  return  to  Yakusu,  touching  at  Yalemba. 


572    *  Death  of  ^'Tata"  Finished' 

On  his  second  day  out  Mr.  Millman  despatched  a 
letter  across  country  to  Yalemba,  describing  his  plans, 
and  requesting  that  Grenfell  would  send  the  '  Peace '  to 
Yambuya  by  June  14,  to  pick  up  the  travellers,  and  give 
them  a  welcome  lift  on  their  homeward  way.  A  second 
letter  from  Mr.  Millman  stated  that  he  could  not  reach 
Yambuya  by  the  date  named,  and  that  he  and  the 
Consul  would  attempt  to  travel  by  canoe  to  Basoko. 

Upon  receipt  of  the  first  letter  Grenfell  at  once 
arranged  with  his  boys  to  despatch  the  *  Peace '  as 
requested,  and  on  June  13  ordered  them  to  make  pre- 
paration for  the  journey.  But  the  stress  of  his  increasing 
illness  and  the  postponement  of  date  thrust  the  matter 
into  the  background.  Yet  on  June  22  the  '  Peace  '  met 
Mr.  Millman  and  the  Consul  at  Yambuya,  and  Baluti 
shall  tell  how  it  came  to  pass. 

•  The  faithful,  diligent  one  in  the  house  did  not  wish 
to  fail  in  the  promise  he  had  given  to  Mr.  Millman,  and 
he  asked  Mawango,  "  What  day  is  this  .<' '  Mawango 
replied,  "The  fourth  day — June  21."  Then  we  took  a 
chair,  and  placed  him  in  it,  and  he  said,  "  Mawango,  I  want 
you  to  go  with  the  "  Peace  "  to  Yambuya,  to  receive  Mr. 
Millman  and  the  Consul.  You  will  return  on  Saturday." 
Afterwards  he  said,  "  If  I  die  here  in  Basoko,  you  shall 
take  my  body  and  bury  it  at  Yalemba."  When  we 
heard  this,  our  hearts  broke,  and  we  said,  "  You,  knowing 
you  are  dying  ;  how  can  you  send  the  '  Peace '  to 
Yambuya  ? "  He  said,  *'  It  is  well,  go  ;  we  shall  meet 
again."  Then  he  sent  me  to  the  doctor,  to  find  a  man 
who  knew  the  way  to  Yambuya,  to  accompany  Mawango. 
The  doctor  sent  two  men,  and  the  *'  Peace  "  left  that  day. 
Nkoko  [grandfather]  lay  in  the  death-agony.  Luvusu 
and  I  remained  to  guard  him,  worn  out.' 

The  arrival  of  the  *  Peace '  at  Yambuya  on  Friday, 


ShadoAvs  Leng-then  573 

June  22,  was  providential  for  Mr.  Millman.  His  fellow- 
traveller  had  been  lying  there  ill  for  five  days,  and  when 
he  had  recovered  sufficiently  to  permit  removal,  it  was 
found  impossible  to  hire  men  to  work  canoes.  But  Mr. 
Millman's  joy  on  sighting  the  *  Peace '  was  turned  to 
heavy  grief,  when  a  letter  from  the  doctor  was  handed 
to  him,  describing  Grenfell's  extremity,  and  bidding  him 
make  haste  if  he  desired  to  see  his  friend  again. 

On  the  2 1st,  after  the  departure  of  the  'Peace,'  the 
State  steamer  '  Ville  d'Anvers '  touched  at  Basoko, 
bringing  mails.  Grenfell  revived  a  little,  looked  over 
some  of  his  letters,  and  in  the  night  called  for  the  news- 
papers, and  read  the  boys  an  account  of  an  earthquake, 
by  which  they  were  much  impressed.  He  also  asked 
them  cheerily  if  they  did  not  think  he  would  recover. 
A  period  of  acute  pain  supervened ;  but  when  Mr. 
Millman  came  on  Saturday  the  23rd,  he  revived  again, 
and  talked  of  his  travels.  On  Sunday  his  attendants 
dared  to  hope  once  more,  but  the  amendment  was 
transient  and  illusory.  Great  anguish  quickly  came 
upon  him,  and  thereafter  the  sun  sank  and  the  shadows 
lengthened. 

On  the  following  Tuesday  night  Mr.  Millman  left  him 
for  a  while,  to  take  leave  of  the  Consul,  who  was  goinc 
away  on  the  morrow.  Returning  to  the  house,  he  found 
the  boys  outside  weeping  bitterly.  Inquiring  the  cause, 
he  learned  that  Nkoko  had  asked  them,  '  Do  you  think 
I  shall  see  Mamma  [Mrs.  Grenfell]  again  ? '  They 
answered,  '  We  do  not  know ;  if  God  wills  you  may. ' 
Whereupon  he  shook  his  head,  and  they  passed  outside, 
that  they  might  not  distress  him  by  their  unbridled 
sorrow. 

In  the  morning  Mr.  Kempton  arrived  from  Yakusu, 
having  made  a  record  journey,  thanks  to  the  devotion  of 


574    'Death  of  "Tata"  Finished' 

men  who,  wearied  at  the  start,  had  paddled  night  and 
day,  that  they  might  carry  help  to  Nkoko.  Grenfell  just 
recognized  his  friend,  and  called  him  by  his  name.  That 
was  all.  Afterwards,  for  the  most  part,  he  lay  in  semi- 
consciousness, murmuring  words  of  prayer. 

The  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  is  a  lonely  place. 
In  one  dark  hour  Grenfell  found  it  so.  His  nearest  and 
dearest  according  to  the  flesh  were  far  away,  and  in  his 
loneliness  he  looked  with  yearning  eyes  into  the  faces  of 
young  men  who  were  his  sons  in  the  faith,  who  would 
have  died  to  save  him,  and  cried,  in  words  which  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  Africa  will  surely  treasure  for  all 
time :  *  Help  me,  my  children,  I  am  dying !  pray 
for  me  1 '  Later  he  was  clearly  conscious  of  Divine 
companionship  and  succour,  for  he  said  softly,  *  Jesus 
is  mine.    God  is  mine.' 

His  last  words  were  words  of  simple  courtesy.  On 
the  morning  of  Saturday,  June  30,  as  Dr.  Grossule 
entered  the  sick-room,  his  patient  whispered  something 
which  he  failed  to  catch.  The  words  were  repeated,  and 
Baluti,  who  had  stooped  to  listen,  at  request,  said,  '  He 
greets  you,  doctor,  and  would  know  if  you  have  slept' 
The  doctor  answered  pleasantly.     '  Nkoko  also  smiled,' 

With  the  fading  of  that  smile  the  world  faded  from 
his  eyes  for  ever.  He  outlived  the  last  day  of  June,  faring 
on  through  misty  regions  which  baffled  human  love  could 
not  penetrate.  But  when  the  new  month  was  one  hour 
old,  mists  lifted,  shadows  passed  away.  It  was  morning. 
Sabbath  morning,  and  the  hero  of  many  voyages  dropped 
anchor  in  '  the  desired  haven.' 

His  sorrowing  '  children '  would  have  borne  his  body 
to  Yalemba,  according  to  his  wish ;  but,  in  the  absence 
of  the  Commissaire,   Dr.  Grossule  could  not  grant  the 


Death  and  Life  575 

necessary  permit.  He  said,  however,  *We  will  bury 
Mr.  Grenfell  at  Basoko  as  great  men  are  buried.' 
And  Baluti,  who  loved  his  master  passing  well,  shall 
tell  the  story  of  the  funeral.  *  Workmen  toiled  through 
the  darkness  by  lamplight,  and  made  a  good  coffin. 
Cloth  was  put  round  him  well.  The  soldiers  were 
dressed  in  their  uniforms,  and  came  to  the  burying. 
First  we  and  the  teachers  sang  a  hymn,  '  Shall  we  gather 
at  the  river  ? '  [in  the  native  version].  Then  the  soldiers 
fired  their  guns,  and  we  raised  the  body,  and  carried  it 
gently,  gently,  the  soldiers  blowing  their  trumpets  as 
they  marched.  When  the  body  was  laid  to  rest,  they 
fired  their  guns  again.  Mr.  Millman  read  the  service. 
Then  we  sang  another  hymn,  the  State  white  men 
looking  on,  and  a  Roman  Catholic  priest.  Last  of  all 
we  closed  the  grave,  replacing  the  earth,  and  so  the  death 
of  "  Tata  "  [father]  finished.' 

Well  written,  O  Baluti ;  '  the  death  of  Tata  finished,' 
but  not  the  life  !  As  your  brother  in  service  and  in 
sorrow,  Luvusu  wrote,  'We  know  that  our  master 
entered  into  joy  in  heaven,  with  his  great  Master 
Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour.' 

And  on  earth  your  master  lives.  In  your  love  and 
in  your  ministry  he  lives.  In  the  love  and  in  the 
ministry  of  those  whom  you,  in  turn,  shall  lead  into 
the  faith,  he  will  live.  In  the  love  and  in  the  ministry 
of  men  of  his  own  blood,  inspired  by  his  example,  who 
will  tread  the  paths  he  found,  he  will  live.  His  body 
lies  mouldering  in  the  grave  at  Basoko,  'but  his  soul 
goes  marching  on ' ;  and  shall  march,  with  the  armies  of 
the  Living  God,  conquering  and  to  conquer,  until  the 
cruel  forces  of  evil  which  oppress  your  people  shall  be 
broken  in  final  conflict,  and  the  wounds  of  Africa  shall 
bleed  no  more. 


576    *  Death  of  "Tata/'  Finished' 

The  fountain  of  sorrow  opened  at  Basoko  flowed 
with  ever-widening  stream.  When  the  news  was  flashed 
up  and  down  river  by  the  mysterious  telegraphy  of  the 
natives,  there  was  weeping  from  Stanley  Falls  to  the 
coast.  In  the  Homeland  thousands  of  kind  eyes  grew 
dim  with  tears,  as  they  read  brief  records  of  the  veteran 
missionary's  death.  Eulogies  were  written  and  spoken 
by  leaders  of  Science  and  Religion.  But  if  the  spirits 
of  departed  ones  take  immediate  cognizance  of  the 
things  of  earth,  the  tribute  to  the  work  and  worth  of 
George  Grenfell,  dearest  to  his  mind,  will  be  the  tender, 
sorrowful,  unfeigned,  reverent  love  of  those  simple 
people,  for  whose  uplifting  and  salvation  he  travailed 
even  unto  death. 


INDEX 


Abo  towns,  64,  67 

Accra,  mission  work  at,  384 

Adjutant  Story,  157 

Adzes,  native,  443 

'  Akassa,'  the,  voyage  in,  313 

Akwa,  King,  84,  86 

'  Albertville,'  the,  454,  etc. 

Allan,  a  blacksmith,  163 

American  Evangelical  Mission- 
ary Alliance,  378 

Ammonia  fort,  use  of,  260 

Angola,  340,  392 

Anguan's  town,  64 

Anklets,  native,  442 

Ants,  '  driver,'  69 

Anvils,  native,  441 

Arabs,  the,  232,  238,  433 

Arthington,  Mr,  R.,  letters  of, 
93,  96,  234,  289 

Arthington  station,  242 

Aruwimi,  the,  207,  430,  etc. 

Asses,  value  of,  85 

Augouard,  Pere,  118,  415 

Babangi,  the,  192,  194 
Bafwaboh,  attack  on,  419 
Bailey,  Rev.  H.  C,  letter  of,  35 
Bakundu,  85 
Balfern,  Rev.  W.  P.,  343 
Balolo  missionaries,  ordered  off, 

558 
Baluti,  a  native  Christian,  439, 

567,  etc. 
Banalya  district,  440 
Banana,  100,  314 
Bangala,  181,  196,  199,  226,  357, 

358 
Banks,  Rev.  C.  B.,  465 
Banunu,  the,  192,  194 


Banza  Manteka,  1 14 
Baptisms,   260,   277,   336,   342, 

374,378,414,  514 
Baptist  African    Mission,   the, 

46 
Baptist  Times ^  extract  from,  41 
Baracho,  Lieut.-Colonel,  307 
Barge,  State,  wreck  of,  453 
Bamaby,  Mr.  S.,  on  the  launch 

of  the  'Peace,'  169 
Barttelot,  Major,  440 
Basket  weaving,  443 
Basoko,  343 

Basundi  country,  112,  118 
Bateke,  the,  176 
Batende,  the,  192 
Batetelas,  revolt  of,  372 
Bathunu,  196 
Bayansi,  the,  192 
Baynes,  Mr.,  resignation  of,  533  : 

letter  of,  540 
Bayneston,  114 
Beef,  hippo,  220 
Belgian  Commission  for  settling 

the  frontier  with  Portugal, 

307,  etc. 
Belgians,  King  of  the,  303,  305 
Bell,  King,  76,  84 
Bellows,  native,  441 
Bentley,  Rev.  W.  Holman,  115, 

116,  240,  366,  510  ;  on  Gren- 

fell  on  board  the  '  Peace,' 

208  ;  his  view  of  Gren  fell's 

journeys,  208  ;  death  of,  544 
Bethel  station,  68 
Biggs,  Rev.  J.  E.,  239,  256 
Bimbia,  King  William  of,  70 
Binue,  the,  216 
Bioscope,  a,  554 

2  P 


578 


Index 


Bird,  Rev.  Ben  well,  i8 

Birmingham,  i 

Birmingham  Young  Men's  Bap- 
tist Missionary  Society,  19 

Black  River,  the,  207,  219 

'  Black  Year '  of  1887,  4o6 

Blacksmiths,  native,  441 

Blind  natives,  445 

Blood-brotherhood,  197 

Bloomsbury  Theological  Class, 
the,  15 

Bochini,  the,  188 

Bojungi,  197 

Bolobo,  177,  192,  226,  306,  316, 
317,335.350,  353,  354,356, 
359,  366,  406,496,  500,514, 
530,  543 

Bombimba,  202 

Bonamquasi,  66,  67 

Bonaventura,  Father,  10 1 

Bongende,  520 

Bopoto  (Upoto),  343 

Borea,  the,  83 

Boshende,  196 

Brazza,  Count  de,  354 

Bricklayer,  a  native,  yj"] 

Brick-making,  365 

Bristol  College,  24 

Bristol  Students'  Missionary 
Association,  30 

Brooke,  Mr.  G.  W.,  266 

Brown,  Rev.  J.  G.,  252,  253,  263, 
267,  269,  270,  271 

Bukolela,  201,  202 

Buku,  339 

Buls,  M.,  visit  of,  411 

Bululu,  446 

Bungudi,  a  boy,  262,  278,  325, 
408,  521 

Busira,  the,  219 

Butcher,  Rev.  H.  W.,  in,  114, 

154 
Butcher,  Miss,  262,  272 
Buteke,  the,  266 
Bwana  Sige,  233 
Bwang,  83 
Bwangata,  197 
Bwemba,  354 

Cameron,  Rev.  G.  R.  R.,  279 


Cameron,  Mrs.,  333 
Cameroons     Mission     History, 

the,  269 
Cameroons,    mission   work    at, 

385,  etc. 
Cannibals,  219 
Canoes,  native,  436 
Capsize,  a,  539 
Carpenters,  native,  442 
Carriers,   difficulties   with,  328, 

329 
Cauldwell,  Mr.  G.,  13 
Caulkin,  Mr.  A.,  letter  of,  19 
Centennial  Fund,  the,  324 
Chapman,  Rev.  S.,  12 
Charters,  Mr.,  239,  240 
Chinka  Fort,  revolt  at,  454 
Christian  Amusements,  16 
Christian  World,  testimony  of, 

134 
Chumbiri's,  176,  190 
Clothing,  the  question  of,  264 
Coats,  Mr.,  his  gift  of  a  steamer, 

38 
Comber,  Rev.  T.  J.,  79,  85,  114, 
116,  211,  212,  216,  227,  319  ; 
goes  to  the  Congo,  99  ;  re- 
turns to  England,  109  ;  loss 
of  his   wife,    no;    narrow 
escape  of,  1 10  ;  his  story  of 
the  '  Peace,'  166  ;  death  of, 
246 
Comber,  Mrs.  P.,  301 
Commission  of  Inquiry,  Report 

of,  542 
Conference    at    Kinshasa,   492, 

544 
Congo,  the,  discovery  of,  91 
Congo  for  Christ,  quoted,  96 
Congo    Balolo     Mission,     376, 

380 
Coquilhat,  Capt.,  202,  239 
Comishmen,  character  of,  2 
Crocodiles,  447  ;  eggs  of,  524 
Crudgington,  Rev.  H.  E.,  ni, 

n4,  161 
Cruelties,    State    responsibility 

for,  491,  511,  515.  555 
Cruickshank,  Rev.  A.   H.,  212, 
216 


Index 


579 


Cuvelier,  Chevalier  de,  463 
Cylinder,  a  broken,  522 

Dalla,  a  boy,  502 

Darby,  Rev.  R.  D.,  239,  240, 
263,  266,  269,  279,  317 

Darling,  Rev.  F.  C,  217 

Davies,  Rev.  P.,  238 

Deane,  Mr.,  233,  238 

Depopulation  of  Aruwimi  dis- 
trict, 448 

Dhanis's   expedition,  revolt  of, 

403 
Dibamba,  the,  83 
Dibolo,  Lake,  235 
Dibongo,  83 
Dido  town,  83 
Dikulu,  Jack,  262,  277 
Dingulu,  a  chief,  553 
Dixon,  Rev.  H.,  in,  115,  339 
Dodds,  Rev.  C.  J.,  403 
Doke,   Rev.  W.   H.,   in,   126, 

134,  138 

*  Down  Grade,'  the,  265 

*  Driver  ants,'  69 
Dubois,  Lieut.,  239 
Dumbi,  a  boy,  56,  87 

Ebolu,  a  teacher,  105 
Edea,  83 

Edingo,  a  boy,  564 
Education,  influence  of,  389 
Edwin  Arnold  river,  142 
Eettvelde,  Mons.,  311 
Ellery,  Mr.,  554 
Embomma,  102 
'Endeavour,'  the,  550,  etc. 
Endokobele,  83 
Endokoko,  83 
Endokombwang,  83 
Epea,  a  teacher,  105 
Equatorville,  198 
'Ethiopia,'  loss  of,  127 
Ewangi,  story  of,  57 
Execution,  mode  o^  197 

Fataki,  wedding  of,  363 
Fernando  Po,  73 
Fighting,  native,  352,  538 
Fire  at  Stanley  Pool,  231 


Fire,  an  incendiary,  565 

Fishing,  55 

Fly-country,  a,  330 

Food,  scarcity  of,  242 

Forfeitt,  Rev.  Lawson,  282,  285, 

293,  297,  299,  404,  509,  544 
Forfeitt,  Rev.  William,  287,  288, 

418 
Forging  work,  341 
Franz  Joseph  Falls,  327 
French  native  policy,  369 
French  visitor,  a,  502 
Fuller,  Rev.  J.  J.,  story  of,  88 
Fullerton,  Rev.  W.  Y.,  proposals 

of,  559 
Funeral  customs  at  Cameroons, 

53 

Ganchus,  187 

Garaganje  country,  the,  235 

German  naturalist,  death  of,  104 

Gill,  Mr.,  185 

Glave,  Mr.  E.  J.,  180 

Glennie,  Rev.  R.  V.,  348,  353 

Gobela,  a  chief,  175 

'  Goodwill,'  the  building  of,  300  ; 

launch  of,  306  ;  arrival  of, 

317  i  upset  of,  495 
Gorin,  Lieut.,  310 
Gotch,   Rev.   Dr.,   Principal   of 

Bristol  College,  25 
Gotchaka,  a  chief,  276 
Gouges,  native,  443 
Grandy,  Commander,  94 
Greenhough,  Rev.  J.  G.,  ministry 

of,  26 
Grenfell,  Carrie,  540 
Grenfell,  E.  P.,  5 
Grenfell,  George,  sen.,  4,  161 
Grenfell  George — 

birthplace,  1-4 

removal  to  Birmingham,  i 

his  character,  2 

birth  of,  4 

parentage  of,  4 

his  pedigree,  6 

stories  of,  7 

school  life  of,  9 

at  Sunday  school,  10 

his  boy  friends,  10 


58o 


Index 


Grenfell,  George — contd. 
a  fight,  1 1 
baptism  of,  12 
his  consecration  to  mission 

work,  12 
his  teachers,  \2)i  14 
Sunday  work,  14,  18 
learns  Greek,  18 
becomes  an  apprentice,  19 
edits  Mission  Work,  20 
goes  to  Bristol  College,  21 
his  college  life,  27 
narrow  escape  from  drown- 
ing, 35 
accepted    for    the     Came- 

roons,  37 
Designation  Service,  39 
in  Liverpool,  39 
reminiscences  of,  41 
arrival  at  Cameroons,  47 
description  of,  48-56 
his  work  there,  48 
*  literary  remains,'  50 
medical  work,  52-58 
his  first  journey,  58 
goes  to  Abo  towns,  64 
Bethel  Station,  68 
illness,  72 

goes  to  Fernando  Po,  73 
back  to  England,  7^ 
marriage,  74 

voyage  to  Cameroons,  74 
death  of  his  wife,  78 
his  work  at  Cameroons,  79 
his  journeys  described,  81 
kills  a  snake,  87 
describes    the    Congo,  91, 

102 
accepts  Congo  Mission,  98 
flying  visit  to  Congo,  loo 
farewells,  102 
his  boat,  102 
arrival  at  Banana,  106 
journey  to  Makuta,  107 
return    to    San     Salvador, 

109 
second  marriage,  109 
his  history  of  the  Mission, 

110-115 
his  love  for  the  'Peace,'  121 


Grenfell,  G'eo^g^— contd. 
returns  to  England  to  work 

on  the  steamer,  124 
his  dislike  of  visitors,  126 
at  Liverpool,  128 
travels  of,  128 
farewell  meeting,  129 
his  speech,  130-134 
Christmas  on   board   ship, 

arrival  at  Banana,  136 

loss  of  his  baby,  137 

his  plans,  137 

at  Underbill,  138 

goes  to  Stanley  Pool,  141 

arrival  and  return,  144 

illness,  145 

his  experiences,  146 

a  hurried  wedding,  149 

stopped  by  armed  natives, 

151 
Sunday  in  camp,  153 
difficulties,  154 
work  at  the  Pool,  1 56 
adjutant  story,  157 
voyage  in  a  steel  boat,  160 
sorrowful  return,  160 
his  father's  death,  161 
putting    the  '  Peace '     to- 
gether, 162 
trial  trip,  164 
voyage  in  the  whale-boat, 

171,  etc. 
at  the  Equator,  181 
boy  passengers,  185 
human  sacrifices,  193 
dealings   with  the  natives, 

199,  etc. 
his  summary  of  voyage,  204 
his  literary  style,  206 
his  first  printing,  211 
his  Christmas  fare,  213 
attacked  by  natives,  214 
meets  Tippoo  Tib,  215 
third  voyage  in  the  '  Peace,' 

219 
meeting  with  cannibals,  219 
kills  a  hippo  for  food,  220 
his  fourth  voyage,  227 
trouble  at  Stanley  Pool,  230 


Index 


581 


Grenfell,  George— ir<7«/^. 
his  summary  of  journeys, 

235 
death  of  his  son,  238 
voyage  up  the  Kwango,  239 
natives  driven  away  by  a 

vi'histle,  241 
scarcity  of  food,  242 
his  return  to  England,  243 
received  by  King  Leopold, 

245 
his   readiness  to  return  to 

Africa,  248 
his  testimony  to  Comber, 

250 
voyage  in  *  Landana,'  252 
arrives  at  Underbill,  253 
his  missionary  zeal,  257 
on  Bishop  Taylor,  259 
adventure    with    ammonia 

fort,  260 
Christmas  thoughts,  261 
at  Stanley  Pool,  262 
pleads  for    reinforcements, 

267 
has  another  daughter,  269 
death  of  his  baby,  270 
in  a  tornado,  272 
declines      to      return       to 

England,  274 
mosquitoes,  275 
his  appetite,  275 
reports  progress,  280 
translates  Ten  Command- 
ments, 280 
in  the  *  forties,'  281 
in  the  midst  of  war,  283 
translates  Mark,  284 
voyage  up  river,  285 
the  *  Peace'  seized,  291,  etc. 
interviews    the     Governor- 
General,  293,  295 
returns  to  England,  297 
at  Sancreed,  297,  301,  307 
superintends     building     of 

the  '  Goodwill,'  300 
his  review  of  work  on  the 

Congo,  303,  etc. 
interviews  with  the  King  of 
the  Belgians,  305,  312 


Grenfell,  George — contd. 
made  a  '  Chevalier,'  305 
his  illness,  305 
joins  Belgian  Commission, 

308 
goes  out  in  the   'Akassa,' 

312 
in  a  storm,  313 
lands  at  Matadi,  314 
delayed  at  Underbill,  315 
his  great  journey,  318,  etc. 
difficulties    with     carriers, 

328,  etc. 
in  the  swamps,  329 
in  a  fly-country,  330 
epidemic  of  smallpox,  33 1 
return  journey,  331 
a  grand  reception,  333 
his  disappointments,  334 
his  wardrobe,  337 
at  San  Salvador,  338 
presents    to    his    children, 

340 
work    on    the    '  Goodwill,' 

341 
an  accident  on  board,  344 
on  sandbanks,  345 
engine  breaks  down,  345 
a  tornado,  346 
a  '  palaver,'  347 
Christmas  fare,  351 
worries,  357 

his  geographical  work,  367 
awarded  Founder's   Medal 

of  R.G.S.,  368 
on    cruelty  and    taxation, 

369,  etc. 
reports  progress,  375 
his  new  house  at  Bolobo, 

376 
a  chain  of  stations  wanted, 

379 
his    treatise    on    missions, 

382,  etc. 
on  trade,  385,  etc. 
on  punishments,  387 
on  education,  389 
on  technical  training,  394 
on  difficulties  of  converts, 

395 

2  P  2 


582 


Index 


Grenfell,  George — contd. 
his  sorrows,  400 
notice      to    quit     Sargent 

Station,  401 
another  voyage,  402,  etc. 
his  return,  424 
death  of  Pattie,  421 
another  voyage,  421 
difficulty  of  navigation,  425 
voyage    up    the    Aruwimi 

described,  430,  etc. 
a  slave  ransomed,  431 
the  return  journey,  448 
depopulation  of  the  district, 

448 
serious  illness,  45 1 
at  Matadi,  454 
on  the  '  Albertville,'  454 
his  wide  interests,  457 
character  of  his  letters,  458 
his      proposed     letter     to 

colleges,  459 
his  views  on  the  Press,  461 
his  feelings  of  depression, 

462 
at  Brussels,  463 
at  Bournemouth,  463 
a  breakdown,  467 
last  three  months  in  Eng- 
land, 468 
withdraws  from  the  Com- 
mission, 491,  511 
arrives  at  Congo,  492 
attends  Conference  at  Stan- 
ley Pool,  492 
at  Yalemba,  492 
at  Bolobo,  493 
on  Romish  missions,  494 
voyage  up  the  Aruwimi,  497 
service  at  Yalemba,  498 
journey  to  Mawambi,  498 
Christmas  in  Bolobo,  500 
a  bachelor  manage,  501 
on  dentistry,  502 
reaches    Upoto    (Bopoto), 

503 
views  of  the  future  of  Africa, 

503 
atYakusu,  506,  526,  561 
up  the  Kwango,  512 


Grenfell,  George— f:<7«/a'. 
on  the  cruelties,  515,  etc. 
at  Bongende,  520 
bitten  by  a  tsetse  fly,  521 
up  the  Lomami,  527 
back  at  Bolobo,  530 
reports  failure  and  success, 

532 
depression,  533,  536 
voyage  to  Yalemba,  534 
native  unrest,  538 
his  courage,  538 
a  capsize,  539 

interview    with    Governor- 
General,  541 
scarcity  at  Bolobo,  543 
on  Bentley's  death,  544,  555 
his  last  voyage,  548 
visits  Lake  Mantumba,  554 
his  return,  illness,  and  death, 

562,  etc. 
his  funeral,  575 

Grenfell,   Mrs.,  73  ;    illness   of, 
76  ;  death  of,  78 

Grenfell,  Grace,  454 

Grenfell,  John,  4 

Grossule,  Dr.,  574 

Hailes,  Miss  de,  365 
Hall,  Rev.  Robert,  story  of,  29 
Hamisi,  a  boy,  228 
Hammers,  native,  441 
Hanssens,  Captain,  267 
Hari  Nkutu,  188 
Harmonium,  effect  of,  276 
Harrison,  Rev.  F.  G.,  252,  253, 

270,  279 
Hartland,  Rev.  J.  S.,  112,  114, 

140 
Hartland,  Mrs.,  314 
Hartley,  Rev.  J.  W.,  161 
Hastings,  Mr.  Wm.,  12 
Hawker,  Rev.  G.,  237 
Hawkes,  Joseph,  ii,  22 
Hawkes,  Miss  Mary,  73 
Health,  the  question  of,  264 
Heneage  Street  Baptist  Church, 

9 
'  Henry  Reed,'  the,  168 
Hickory  town,  a  quarrel  at,  76 


Index 


583 


Hippopotami  shooting,  for  food, 

178,  220 
Houses,  native,  51,  444 
Howell,  Rev.  J.,  375)  4^6,  45  ^ 

453,  460,  467 
Hughes,  Rev.  E.,  317 
Hughes,  Rev.  W.,  1 1 1 
Human  sacrifices,  193 
Hunting,  native,  444 
Hymn-singing,  native,  526,  529, 

537 

Ibaka,  a  chief,  192 

Ibari  Nkutu,  the,  176 

Ikelemba,  181 

Industrial  mission  workers,  384 

Inganda,  197 

Ipaka,  a  chief,  196 

Irebo,  369 

Irebu, 196 

Iron,  pative  workers  in,  441,  446 

Iron-stone,  446 

Irundo,  526,  527 

Isangila,  112,  114,  116 

Jack,  a  donkey,  105 
Ja-Ja,  King,  70 
Je-engo  charm,  a,  65 
Jefferd,  Rev.  F.  A.,  341 
Jesuit  missions,  115,  117 
Joaque,  a  type-setter,  213 
John,  see  Ti. 
Johnston,  Sir   H,,  on  Grenfell, 

368 
Jones,  Dr.,  100 
Juapa,  the,  207,  219 

Kalaki,  84 

Kallina  Point,  161 

Kapenda  Camulemba,  327 

Kasai,  the,  228,  235,  241,  512 

Kasongo  Luamba,  328 

Kasongo's,  506 

Keltic,  Dr.  Scott,  on  Grenfell, 

368 
Kiamvo,  318 
Kibokolo,  340 
Kimpoko,  187,  239 
King       Edward's       Grammar 

School,  II 


Kinshasa  (Nshasha),  187,  230, 
232";    conference    at,    340, 

492,   544 
Kirkland,  Rev.  R.  H.,  343 
Kiteke  language,  the,  263 
Kokki,  64,  67 
Kongo,  King  of,  106 
Kroomen,  84 
Kwa,  the,  188 

Kwamouth,  188,  190,  226,  228 
Kwango,  the,  176, 188,  240,  241, 

323.  327,  512 

Language,  influence  of,  389 

Lazaro,  Padre,  106 

Le  Berre,  P^re,  105 

Le    Mouvement   des    Missions 

Catholique^  quoted,  518 
Le'a's,  town,  65 
'Leon  XIII.,' the,  414 
Leopold,  Lake,  238 
Leopoldville,  218,  230 
Leshe,  Dr.,  547 

Letters  from   George    Grenfell 
to— 

Mr.  R.  Arthington,  235,  418 
Mr.  Baynes,  117,  138,162, 
164,  171,  183,  207,  226, 
232,  236,  238,  239,  243, 
245,  246,  248,  250,  252, 
259,  263,  269,  272,  274, 
282,  287,  288,  293,  302, 
306,  308,  310,  312,  316, 
320,  323,  326,  327,  331, 
332,  333,  338,  405,  409, 
411,412,  414,  416,418, 
436,  459,  463,  465,  492, 
494,  496,  499,  503,  508, 
509,  513,  517,  525,  526, 
527,531,  532 
Rev.  W.  H.  Bentley,  372 
Rev.  A.  Billington,  237 
Colleges,  459 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  S.  Dennis,  382 
Rev.  Lawson  Forfeitt,  295, 
297,  301,  353,  360,  366, 
458,  466,  495,  507,  508, 
510,511,512,  513,  520, 
525,  531,  541,  542,  548, 
559 


584 


Index 


Letters   from   George   Grenfell 
to — contd. 
Rev.  Wm.  Forfeitt,  451,  542, 

543 
Rev.  J.  J.  Fuller,  260,  269, 

Rev.  Dr.  Glover,  81 

Mrs.  Greenhough,  341,  359, 

425,  486 
Gertrude      Grenfell,     477, 

478,  481 
Carrie  Grenfell,   471,   474, 

475,  477,  481,  483 

•    Mrs.   Hartland,    127,    135, 

141,  217,  237,  244,  253, 

258,  271,  282,  284,  313 

Miss  Hartland,  356,  361 

Miss  Hawkes,  210,  212,  213, 

227,  256,  260,  261,  262, 

265,  270,  275,  283,  318, 

324,  350,  354,  357,  403, 
405,  407,  412,  450,  496, 
514,521,  548,568 
Mr.  J.  Hawkes,  134,  215, 
230,  243,  245,  276,  280, 
302,  303,  312,  322,  329, 
340,  360,  363,  366,  374, 
402,404,407,409,  413, 
421,  424,  428,  452,  456, 

506,  515,  556,  567 
Rev.  J.  Howell,  411,  452, 

455,  461,  467,  469,  495, 

512,  530 
J.  S.  Keltic,  Esq.,  368 
Rev.  S.  O.  Kempton,  565 
Mr.  T.  Lewis,  28,  34,   37, 

47,  78,  242,  277,   501, 

507,  518,  529,  535 
Rev.  W.  J.  Mills,  36 

Rev.  J.  M.  G Wynne  Owen, 

40,  66,  73,  74 
Rev.  R.  H.  Powell,  102,  218 
Sir  F.  de  Winton,  223 
Rev.  Dr.  Underbill,  34,  285 
Rev.  W.  H.  White,  297 
Rev.  C.  E.  Wilson,  558 

Lewis,  Rev.  T.,  339,  340 

Lewis,  Mrs.,  338,  340 

Liboko,  199,  201,  202 

Liebrecht,  Lieut.,  192,  307 


Lindi,  the,  361 

Lindi  Falls,  418 

Liverpool,  meetings  at,  127 

Livtard,  Lieut.,  371 

Loanda,  332 

Lobengo,  202 

Loboko,  201 

Loika,  the,  354 

Loleka,  a  carpenter,  364 

Lomami,  the,  207,  527 

Lone  Island,  191 

Losere,  353 

Lualaba,  the,  92 

Lubilast,  the,  215 

Luchiko,  the,  329 

Luebo,  317 

Lukolela,  179, 195,  226,  238, 239, 

266,  532 
Lukunga,  320 
Lulanga,  199,  200 
Lulongo,  the,  196,  201 
Lulongo-Maringa,  the,  207,  219 
Lulua,  the,  228 
Lunda  Expedition,  307,  etc. 
Lungasi  towns,  83 
Lungu,  love  affairs  of,  159 
Luvu  river,  139 
Luvusu,  548 

Mabelo,  181 

Macmillan,  Rev.  D.,  death  of, 

216 
Makuta,  107 
Malfeyt,  Major,  497 
Malimba,  83 
Maloney,  Mr.,  185 
Mandoko,  65 
Mangaba,  199 
Mangamba,  65,  66 
Mantumba,  Lake,  354,  554 
Mantumba,  the,  181 
Manyanga,  112,  114,  116 
Martini,  Captain,  292 
Mata  Mayiki,  a  chief,  202 
Matadi,  314 
Matoka,  107 
Matthews,  Mr.,  270 
Mawambi,  498,  499 
Mawango,  521,  571,  etc. 
Mayango,  a  chief,  197 


Index 


585 


Mayumba,  247 
Mbala,  a  chief,  363 
Mbongo,  197 
Mbuma,  a  teacher,  532 
Mbura,  the,  207,  216 
Mechow,  Major  von,  241 
Mense,  Dr.,  240 
Miang  town,  64,  66 
Millman,  Rev.  W.,  571,  etc. 
Millman,  Mrs.,  493 
Minns,  Mr.,  death  of,  212 
Missionary  Herald^  quoted,  1 10, 

124,  183,  etc. 
Mission    Work,    extract    from, 

21 
Mmoila,  107 
Mobeka,  461 
Moie,  192,  193 
Monogamy,  394 
Monsembe,  290,  451,  452,  534 
Moolenaar,  Rev.  H.  K.,  1 1 1 
Mordecai  Creek,  83 
Morgan,  Mrs.,  554 
Mpozo  ferry,  114 
Mpumba,  181 
Mswata,  175,  187 
Mubangi,  the,  196,  207,213,216, 

235,  369 
Muene  Puto  Kasongo,  a  chief, 

318,  320,  326 
Mukimvika,  149 
Mukupi,  448 
Mulamba  Shambola,  507 
Mumbomboli,  447 
Mundungu,  513 
Mungundu,  201 
Munsembe,  202 
Mup^,  434 
Mushie,  189 
Musuko,  106,  112 
Mweli,  a  chief,  64 

Nga  Nkabi's  Mushie,  town, 

189,  190 
Ngombe,  181,  195 
Ngombe  Makwekwe,  142 
Nguri  a  Nkama,  327 
Nimptsch,  Baron  von,  227 
Nkosi,  a  teacher,  520 
Nkunju,  194 


N'Kwi,  69 

Nlemvo,  love  affairs  of,  1 59 
Nshasha  (Kinshasa),  226 
N'Toe,  chief  of  Wuri,  59 
Ntumba  Mani,  322 
Nyambi,  the,  276 
Nyangwe,  207 


Oko  Jumbo,  70 

Oldrieve,  Rev.  F.,  554 

Oram,    Rev.   F.   R.,   287,  288, 

337,  343 


Packing  difficulties,  210 

Paddling,  mode  of,  437 

Paintmg,  native,  438 

Palabala,  114 

'  Palavers,'  347,  564 

Palm  wine,  68 

Panga  Nlele,  323,  324 

Pangani,  a  chief,  446 

Patterns,  native,  442,  443 

Pattie,  400,  404,  407,  421 

'  Peace,'  the,  story  of,  121,  etc.  ; 
seizure  of,  291,  etc.  ;  con- 
dition of,  509,511,522 

Pearse,  Rev.  Mark  Guy,  on 
Cornishmen,  2 

Peggy,  Grenfell's  daughter,  137, 
142  ;  operation  on,  244 

Pickersgill,  Consul,  333 

Pinnock,  Rev.  J.,  253 

Pitika,  a  chief,  434 

Planing,  native,  443 

Poling,  native,  437 

Pollard,  Elizabeth,  5 

Polygamy,  394,  396 

Pople,  Rev.  G.  R.,  401,  403 

Popocabaca,  325,  326 

Popoie,  447 

Portuguese  Commissioner,  delay 

of,  315  ^    ^ 

Press,  the,  influence  of,  461 
Prices  at  Cameroons,  70 
Printing,  first  Congo,  211 
Printing-press,  a,  365 
Prisu  people,  the,  76 
Punishments,  native,  387 


586 


Index 


QuA-QuA,  the,  83 
Ouilo,  the,  331 
Quiri,  69 

Railway  progress,  315 

'  Ranger,'  a  dog,  279 

Rankin,  Mr.,  554 

Rapids  on  the  Aruwimi,  437 

Reuter's  telegram  re  seizure  of 
the  '  Peace,'  296 

Revolt  of  soldiers  at  Chinka 
Fort,  454 

Richards,  Rev.  M.,  238,  263, 
266,  269,  272 

Roberts,  Dr.,  report  of,  467 

Roger,  Rev,  J.  L.,  292,  426 

*  Roi  des  Beiges,'  the,  415  ;  cap- 
size of,  551 

Roman  missions,  character  of, 
393,  402,  494 

Rorhkirk,  Baron  von,  262 

Rottmann,  Mr.,  82 

Rowe,  Catherine,  4 

Rowe,  Michael,  4 

Ruki,  the,  197,  199 

Ruskin,  Mr.,  554 

'  St.  John  on  Haiti,'  375 
Sadler,  Professor  M.  E.,  letter 

of,.497 
Sakamimbe,  194 
Saker,  Rev.  A.,  36,  39,  45 
Salambo,  427 
San  Salvador,  92  ;  mission  at, 

no,  338,  392,421 
Sancreed,  1-4 
Sankuru,  the,  372 
Sargent  Station,  335,  401 
Scarcity  of  food,  431 
Scholars,  native,  350,  499 
School  treat  for  black  children, 

a,  50 
Scrivener,  Rev.  A.  E.,  247,  365, 

534 
Scrivener,  Mrs.,  409 
Seizure  of  the  '  Peace,'  291,  etc. 
Shah,  Rev.  Goolzar,  20 
Shari  Valley,  235 
Shaw,  a  carpenter,  163 
Shoreland,  Mr.,  239 


Showers,  James,  163,  263 
Sierra  Leone,  mission  work  at, 

383 
Silvey,  Rev.  S.,  263,  269 
Silvey,  Miss,  262,  272,  273 
Sims,  Dr.,  510 

Slade,  Rev.  A.  D.,  272,  273,  276 
Slave,  ransom  of  a,  431 ;  woman, 

trouble  over,  232  ;  recovery 

of  a  female,  355 
Slave-killing,  287 
Slavery,  question  of,  370 
Slaves,  position  of,  387,  etc. 
Sleeping  sickness,  the,  523 
Small,  Dr.,  246,  247 
Small-pox,  epidemic  of,  331 
Smelting,  native,  446 
Smith,  Mr.,  ']^ 
Smith,  Rev.  H.  Sutton,  424, 428, 

554,  561 
Spaniards,  conduct  of,  80 
Spirits,  prohibition  of,  396 
Stanford,  Dr.,  sermon  by,  128 
Stanley,   Mr.    H.    M.,   92,  264, 

270,  273 
'Stanley,'  the,  168 
Stanley    Falls,    207,   226,    228, 

232,  235 
Stanley  Pool,  128,  230,  341 
Stanley   Pool   Fire    Fund,  the, 

240 
Stannard,  Mr.,  521 
Stapleton,  Rev.  W.  H.,  290,  317, 

525,  527,  559 
Stapleton,  Mrs.,  465,  etc. 
Steane,  Francis,  294,  325 
Stephens,  Rev.  J.  R.  M.,  402 
Stokes  Croft,  Bristol,  24 
Stonelake  Brothers,  450,  451 
Strike,  a  native,  6 1 
Suliman,  a  boy,  228 
Sunday  programme,  a,  14 
Sunday  in  camp,  153 
'  Sunny  fountains,  Afric's,'  66 
Swamps,  in  the,  329 
Swimming,  native,  351 

Tambora,  371 
Tattooing,  203 
Taxation  of  natives,  368,  etc. 


Index 


587 


Taylor,  Bishop,  259 

Taylor,  Rev.  T.,  letter  of,  5 

Ten  Commandments  translated, 
280 

Thomson,  Rev.  Q.,  161 

Thornton,  Lieut.,  434,  440 

Threepenny-bit,  the,  22 

Thys,  Captain,  301,  305 

Ti,  a  boy,  87 ;  visit  of,  to  Eng- 
land, 159,  163 

Tippoo  Tib,  215,  226,  270 

Tooth-drawing,  502 

Trade,  influence  of  missions  on, 
385,  etc. ;  native,  176 

Trannack  Mill,  4 

Translation  work,  280,  284 

Transport  facilities,  436 

Tritton,  Mr.  J.,  speech  of,  129 

Tsetse  flies,  523 

Tungwa,  107 

Ukere,  the,  207,  2x6 
Ullathorne,  Dr.,  letter  to,  17 
Underbill,    136,   314,   315,  333, 

334,  338,  340 
Underbill,  Dr.,  letter  of,  33 
Unrest,  native,  538 
Upoto  (Bopoto),  281,  285,  287, 

.  503 
Uriki  river,  187 

Van  de  Velde,  Captain,  262 
Vanderschick,  Lieut.,  death  of, 

419 
Vangele,  Mons.,  198 
Verstraeton,  Lieut.,  418 
Villages,   strategic   position   of, 

434 
*  Ville  de  Paris,'  the,  415 


Vivi,  112,  114 
Von  Frangois,  219 

Wabuma,  175,  189 
Wanga  Wanga,  114 
Wangerm^e,    Vice  -  Governor, 

417 
Ward,  Mr.  H.,  264 
Wars,    native,    283  ;    with  the 

State,  320 
Wathen,  217,  358 
Wathen,  Sir   Charles,  his   gift, 

358 
Weaving,  native,  443 
Webb,  Dr.,  324 
Wedding,    a    hurried,     149 ;    a 

native,  363 
Weeks,  Rev.  J.  H,,  1 1 1,  1 1 5,  245, 

282,  290,  534 
Welle  of  Schweinfurth,  the,  216  ; 

mission  at,  518 
Weston,  James,  14 
Wheelman,  the,  557 
White,   Rev.  W.  H.,  292,   293, 

349,  359,  362 
Whitley,  Rev.  H.  G.,  217,  256 
Williams,  Mr.,  462,  463 
Winton,  Sir  F.  de,  185,  221,  etc. 
Wissmann,  Lieut.,  227 
Witchcraft,  352 
Wolo,  a  chief,  355 
Wuri,  people  of,  62 

Yakusu,  361,  506,  524,  526,  561 
Yalemba,  492,  498,  51 3,  534,  etc. 
Yapoma,  83 

Zambesi  Valley,  the,  236 
Zwarky,  a  boy,  217 


PRINTED    BY   WILLIAM   CLOWES   AND   SONS,   LIMITED,    LONDON   AND   BECCLES. 


1 


Date  Due 

(rLZO'Oi 

<|) 

